IDW Publishing Forums

[Delhidally]

[Cnwl]

Hi, Delhi! Agree, agree -- that CORRIGAN storyline was a lot of fun, wasn't it?

Your question about the GENIUS slipcase is far from a dumb one. Particulars are still being kicked around, and we're talking with both the Toth family and folks at the IDW Mothership about ways to make our first slipcase extra-special. Since we don't know all the answers yet, I have no details to share, but yes, there will definitely be a slipcase for the GENIUS set of books.
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Best wishes --

- B -

[emb021]

[emb021]

That last post kind of reminded me of some things growing up.

I grew up in the 60 and 70s, way before the Internet. To find stuff out you'd have to got to a library and check out books and such. And if the library didn't have that book, too bad. As a kid how might you find out that a book your library didn't have even existed?

One of the earliest reference book on comic book and comic strips I came across was the "World Encyclopedia of Comics" by Maurice Horn. I read about American comic strips I had never seen, and a wide range of comics from around the world I probably had no chance (back then) of ever seeing. I have the original hardback edition. (there was a later paperback edition I got in a used bookstore that had some updates, then they did a multi-volume hardback edition I picked up for cheap at another used book store recently).

But going thru this book, I found a LOT of strips I wanted to know more about. There are many I am FINALLY only reading now, thanks to new editions (or in some cases, new editions in English).

Another pair of books I discovered was the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics and the Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics. (they did a new version of these as one book, but its not as good. Not certain I even have a copy of that). I'd get both of these as Xmas gifts over the years.

I loved both those books. I know the SCNC had the last part of the classic LOA storyline of Shanghai Peg (Sundays only in b/w). So I kept wanting FBI's run of LOA books to get to that complete story. I had to wait for IDW to do this, and they had the full storyline run across 2 of their volumes.

Back then, the only company doing newspaper reprints was FBI under their "Nemo Comics Library" line (I think under the editorship of Bill Blackbeard). I got many of these volumes (Dickie Dare, Red Barry, Prince Valiant, Popeye, LOA, etc). I really miss the Nemo magazine as well.

I had the last 3 (of 5) volumes by Nostalgia Press of their Flash Gordon reprint.

It would be later that KSP would do their aborted Li'l Abner run (I got several of the early volumes, but not a complete set), Steve Canyon (got them all), Flash Gordon (have most), etc.

NBM was also big into strip reprints back then too. Tarzan (couldn't afford), Terry and the Pirates (also missed out), Wash Tubbs (got all but one volume that was OOP), and others.

Another strip I was into was Buck Rogers. At my aunt & uncles house was a big edition of Chelsea House's hardback volume of Buck Rogers strips. I read thru the whole thing, but it was frustrating. While they included the first couple of years complete, the other story lines (including 2 sunday strips) were incomplete. I later was able to get this for a Xmas gift, but discovered it was a later edition by Chelsea House that dropped several from the original edition, and added some from the much later run by George Tuska. Hence I've loved the fact that Hermes Press is doing Buck Rogers, I just get frustrated at their slow pace, as I want to read the complete storylines for the stories I only got part of in that collection.
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MB

[positronic1]

Like you, emb021, I grew up in the 60s and 70s. Strangely enough, I was never that much of a "library kid". I read the usual classics out of the school library, but I was more of a "bookstore kid". I'd take any opportunity to visit any store that SOLD books, new or used. And I loved going to the mall, not knowing what new treasure I'd find in the mass-market paperback racks or on the "clearance tables". Even the drugstore had spinner racks of paperbacks. We (me and my brothers) got all the mass-market reprint paperbacks of comics: MAD, Peanuts, B.C., Tumbleweeds, Andy Capp, Beetle Bailey, Wizard of Id, Dennis the Menace, whatever we could find. I even had some of the E.C. paperback reprints from Ballantine, and boy, did those ever creep me out! Those original Marvel black & white paperback reprints, too... "Super Heroes With Super Problems!" Before that, for a couple of years on Christmas in the 1960s, I got nearly all of Whitman's revived color series of BIG LITTLE BOOKS, which was about evenly split between contemporary TV adaptations (FLIPPER, DAKTARI, SPACE GHOST, FRANKENSTEIN JR., SHAZZAN), comic book and cartoon favorites (BATMAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, MICKEY MOUSE, DONALD DUCK, BUGS BUNNY) and classic heroes like LONE RANGER, DICK TRACY, and TARZAN. As I got a little older I also got into the pulp stuff that was being reprinted in paperback -- Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Doc Savage, The Avenger, The Shadow.

I was also able to score some of the earliest and most important historical books from the "clearance tables" at Lauriat's Books and Paperback Booksmith. I picked up Feiffer's GREAT COMIC BOOK HEROES, Steranko's HISTORY OF COMICS, THE COLLECTED WORKS OF BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY (hey, Ray Bradbury says it's good, and that's good enough for me!), Don Thompson & Dick Lupoff's ALL IN COLOR FOR A DIME and THE COMIC-BOOK BOOK, Lupoff's THE GREAT SERIAL HEROES and EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS: MASTER OF ADVENTURE, Jim Harmon's NOSTALGIA CATALOG and THE GREAT RADIO HEROES, Ron Goulart's CHEAP THRILLS and THE ADVENTUROUS DECADE, P.J. Farmer's TARZAN ALIVE and DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE... every one a classic in its own right. I do remember getting THE SMITHSONIAN BOOK OF COMIC BOOK COMICS, but that seems like a distinctly later addition to my library. I never did get the counterpart book on newspaper strips.

I was also fortunate enough that downtown they still had a LOCAL theater (not in a mall or cineplex) that even showed old movie serials (I remember especially seeing THE MONSTER AND THE APE) along with the contemporary feature like HERCULES SAMSON & ULYSSES, FANTASTIC VOYAGE or BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES. Right across the street from the theater was a used bookstore that had tons of old comics, paperbacks, and magazines -- "Take your time, Mom... I'll just be hanging out at Harvey's Bookland...!"

It wasn't until the 1980s when I had a little more money and both Fantagraphics and Kitchen Sink (and Eclipse) were reprinting comic strips that I could really get any substantial comic strip collections... the Buck Rogers book had been kind of fluke, and I managed to miss the entire Nostalgia Press thing until they were already out of print.

Ah, memories...!

[Cnwl]

EMB & POSITRON: I'm a sucker for "Here's how I got into reading comics" stories, so thanks for posting yours! As a youngster I always assumed most comics readers took a path similar to mine, and it's always interested me, as the years have unfolded, to see how wrong that assumption was ... all sorts of on-ramps and all sorts of sensibilities. Or, as they used to say on LAUGH-IN: "Different strokes for different folks!"
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Best wishes --

- B -

[metabaron]

I hope you guys continue with Rip Kirby - I think most readers actually grew up on John Prentice strips rather than Alex Raymond ones. I thought the strips were very charming. Aside from that the reproduction of John Prentice Rip Kirby is absolutely incredibly good (too bad Alex Raymond ones couldn't be restored better). It wouldn't surprise me if they did better in Europe than in NA. Anyway, I am signed up for any further books you do.
Hope I have enough money for all the great books you are bringing

[emb021]

I've tried to avoid stuff expressly on comic books in this thread, wanting to say with comic strips, but with the recent talk about Russ Manning and Tarzan, wanted to add something.

Before that, I did get another comic STRIP collection: Big Fun Comics #9 from the American Comics Archive is out. http://www.americancomicarchive.com/ They've been putting out some nice collections of strips. One they've been doing a lot in this large format paperback series has been Scorchy Smith. They started with Noel Sickles period, moved to Bert Christman (who replaced him). They skipped over the filler people after Christman died, then picked up with Frank Robbins.

Their Scorchy Smith reprints are in BFC #1-4, 6-9, with 6-9 being ALL Scorchy stuff. #9 has the last of the Frank Robbins Scorchy. After he left Scorchy, he then created Johnny Hazard, which Hermes Press is now reprinting. No idea what they will run in the next issue of Big Fun Comics, but check them out. All their back issues are available except #5, which was devoted to Lance by Warren Tubbs (and sadly, their only issue I don't have). Big Fun Comics is an overlooked comic strip reprint gem, IMO.


Now, back to Tarzan and Russ Manning. I just got two recent Dark Horse comics archives. The first of their Russ Manning Tarzan collections and their 2nd Brothers of the Spear collections (which is all Russ Manning artwork).

The Russ Manning Tarzan collection has the adaptions of the first 7 Tarzan books that Du Bois and Manning did: Tarzan of the Apes, Return, Beasts, Son of Tarzan, The Jewels of Opar, Tarzan The Untamed, Tarzan the Terrible. These ran in Tarzan #155-161, #163, #164, #166, and #167. Now, DH did reprint these 7 in 3 smallish trade paperback books.

I AM wondering what might be in the next volume, as there are only 3 more adaptions that Manning did: Tarzan and the Golden Lion, Tarzan and the Ant Men and Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle. Is that enough for another archive of this size? Manning did do 4 original Tarzan stories for European publication (of which 2 DH did reprint). Might we get those 4 stories as well? And would that end the Russ Manning Tarzan comic book archives as well? (there are 2 Korak collections planned, as Manning did the first 11 issues of Korak and v1 will have #1-6).

Now, on to "Brothers of the Spear". For those not aware, this was an original series owned by Western that ran as a backup in their Tarzan comic. Created by DuBois and Jesse Marsh, Manning later took over the artwork before he moved to doing Tarzan (also taking over for Marsh). Its interesting seeing the development of Manning artwork in these volumes before he got to the 'slick' style in Tarzan and later strips (which I am familiar with).

"Brothers of the Spear" is set in Africa (when is unclear, but think the 1800s). Its about 2 boys: Dan-El and Natongo, who are "brothers of the spear". Natongo is black, and a Zulu prince, Dan-El is white and rightful king of a lost white kingdom in Africa called Aba-Zulu. They seek out Dan-El's land, and restore him to the throne (he soon gets a wife), Natongo meets the queen of Tungelu and marries her, becoming their king. They have adventures and met other kingdoms and the like.

the first volume is about half Jesse March, half early Manning. The second volume is all Manning, but still early. I think one more volume is planned for the backup strip which will have the last of Manning's work on the series and I hope the final 2 backup stories by Mike Royer. After that they got their own comic book (because Tarzan moved to Marvel Comics) for 17 issues. I'm hoping they reprint that series, as the artwork was by Jesse Santos and Dan Spiegle, but am not holding my breath.

The stories in these 2 volumes I had never read. I had read reprints of "Brothers of the Spears" stories, which was from later in the run and will be in the third volume, plus I have issues of the standalone comic.
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MB

[Cnwl]

A very nice discussion of our own SKIPPY Volume 1 at http://www.tcj.com/days-of-yesteryear/
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Best wishes --

- B -

[positronic1]

[Cnwl]

Diamond's Scoop electronic newsletter has a piece by Mike Squirek discussing comic strip reprints. Find it at: http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/Home/4/1/73/1017?articleID=132139
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Best wishes --

- B -

[bem1]

Just a quick question, and a couple of comments. Is LoAC planning on putting anything out for FCBD?

Just got Dick Tracy 14. So much focus has been on the forties and the grotesques that much of this volume is new. I like the character of Tonsils, and Gould must of had a fun time drawing him with all the crazy arms going.

Fantagraphics just put a ton of Amazon phish for fall. I am happy to see Captain Easy vol 4 solicited along with Pogo three, Mickey Mouse Sundays two, and though not comic strip related, Carl Barks, and more EC artist centric collections.

Enjoyed reading your latest blog Cnwl. I love the medium of comics, but much of the superhero stuff has been leaving me cold. Thankfully when I realized superheros weren't all that, Cerebus, Neat Stuff, Hate, Love and Rockets, etc, etc filled the void.

I am happy to see the comic strip revival lately. I'd read All in Color for a Dime and wonder about Popeye or Mickey Mouse. I'd read Dick Tracy's Celebrated Cases and wonder what happened between the different stories, and why this one was chosen, and not that one. Same with the LOA book.

I love the medium of sequential storytelling, and how Gray, Capp, Caniff and others could pull a reader through a story. Even though I know Tonsils is not going to come to a good end, I still care about him and his flailing arms and his lousy voice and his pop eye.

looking forward to reading King Aroo vol. 2 soon.

[Cnwl]

-- In extending sincere best wishes for a return to full health as quickly as possible for Fantagraphics's Kim Thompson: http://www.tcj.com/wishing-and-hoping/

[Cnwl]

Interesting announcement a'comin' on Thursday, March 14th ...
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Best wishes --

- B -

[Gryphon]

Freaking awesome to see dc comic strips reprinted!