Future Wants in the Comic World

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC Written by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO Penciled by STEVE DITKO with JACK KIRBY Cover by JACK KIRBY & STEVE DITKO Variant Painted Cover by ALEX ROSS In 1962, in the pages of a comic book slated for cancellation, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko gave birth to one of the most-enduring icons in American popular media: the one and only Amazing Spider-Man! Turning the concept of a super hero on its head, they imbued the young, guilt-ridden Peter Parker with the fantastic powers of an arachnid and the fantastic pressures of an everyday teenager. The combination was pure magic.

This stuff was the absolute best ever. I can tell you issue by issue what happened. As a kid I read and re-read these stories a lot of times. I have all of the actual comic book material in the Masterworks, but this will be oversized and include letter pages and other extras. My biggest concern is can a 1,000 page book binding last long and can I actually lift it off a bookshelf.


GOLDEN AGE DR. FATE ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC Written by Gardner Fox Art by Hal Sherman and various Cover by Hal Sherman Don't miss this new, extra-sized archive collecting the complete, mystic adventures of Doctor Fate from More fun Comics #55-98! Young Kent Nelson, taken in by the ancient wizard Nabu, is trained in the mystic arts, preparing to protect the world from mystic threats as the golden-helmeted hero Dr. Fate!

Always loved the few golden age reprints of Dr. Fate that I have read and look forward to being able to read all of Dr. Fate's early tales. Dr. Fate has always been one of my favorite characters through all of his incarnations. So I get a new Dr. Fate series in April and this archive collection of his golden age years in June. Sweet deal

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA HEROES VOL. 1 The Story: As the ’50s dawned and the Atlas Era was born, the day of the Nazi-stomping super hero had passed, and in its place came a new style of hero reflective of the changing times. Heroes born of bizarre atomic science that battled otherworldly alien menaces, and patriotic poster boys that battled back the Communist hordes. Marvel Boy: Rejecting the tyranny of Earth’s governments, scientist Dr. Matthew Grayson built an experimental spacecraft and traveled to the planet Uranus with his infant son, Robert. In this incredible environment, young Robert developed marvelous powers of telepathy and superhuman strength, combined with a pair of amazing photonic wristbands. These astonishing powers made him Marvel Boy, cosmic protector of the solar system! The Hero Revival: The year was 1953, and with fear of Communism clutching the nation’s attention, Atlas Comics publisher Martin Goodman tapped Stan Lee – along with artists John Romita, Bill Everett, Carl Burgos and Russ Heath – to stage a revival of the most-famous super heroes of the era. Bursting onto the pages of YOUNG MEN, the Human Torch, Captain America and the Sub-Mariner made their explosive return to the comics scene! The inaugural volume of a line collecting the exceptionally rare 1950s appearances of Captain America, the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, Marvel Boy, the Black Knight and more, ATLAS ERA HEROES VOL. 1 is just the first peek into a historical bridge between the Golden Age and the Marvel Age of Heroes no fan should be without! Collecting MARVEL BOY #1-2, ASTONISHING #3-6 and YOUNG MEN
#24-28.

The above material always intrigued me because it was even before my time (Lee). I'm a little hesitant to pony up $55 bucks for material I'm totally unfamiliar with, but the artist behind the work ease my fears. Plus from a pure historical perspective it should be a fun read.


SHAZAM: THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #1 (OF 4)
Written by Jeff Smith; Art and cover by Smith The much-anticipated 4-issue Prestige Format miniseries by Jeff Smith, the award-winning creator of BONE, brings the whimsical world of Earth's Mightiest Mortal to fully realized life! Young orphan Billy Batson finds himself wielding truly amazing magic powers — just in time to face an invasion of alien and earthly monsters!

I'm enjoying Trials of Shazam and enjoy moving a character and a concept forward more then most people, but there is nothing wrong with a little nostalgia now and again, especially when done right. Jeff Smith's preview work on this book looks fantastic and I can't wait to read this adventure. This is why I think we can move all the heroes forward and have someone else be Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, because if someone has a good idea for a story from before, just do it.

JSA: DR. MIDNITE Action Figure This 6.25 inch Action Figure features multiple points of articulation, includes a JSA-themed display base and is packaged in a 4-color blister.

While I no longer really believe in ownership of the actual monthly books I still have the collecting disease when it comes to action figures and these updated JSA figures (they also are doing Atom (2 versions golden age), Mr. Terrific (current series), Hawkgirl (current series) and Hourman (current series)) I'm afraid all will be residing in my home soon. Now if I can find enough space to display them all and hide then from my wife at the same time. She actually indulges me to a degree, but you can still only go so far.