Things to Come

There are two reasons for this post. One the day got away from me and I needed to come up with a post idea and this one came to mind.

Two because I have yet to complete a couple of books we want to get reviews out on and I hate to give those book less then the effort they deserve and a quick read and review is not how I like to approach those books.

There are a lot of things that are coming out in the new term future in the world of comics that have me jazzed and I’m looking forward to seeing them. Sparks from Catastrophic Comics is one of those books (yes I will continue to hype a book that I like until I make everyone order a copy!), but one of my big passions is hard covers so I’m going to share my partial list of hard covers that I have on order with you all and hope you see something of interest. Please do not share this list with my wife as I just filled up a third bookcase and she accepts my addiction, but is not always a happy camper about it.

BERNIE WRIGHTSON’S FRANKENSTEIN Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (W) and Bernie Wrightson (A) On sale Oct 29 FC, 240 pages $29.95 HC, 9" x 12" Few works by comic-book artists have earned the universal acclaim and reverence that Bernie Wrightson’s illustrated version of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein was met with upon its original release in 1983. Twenty-five years later, this magnificent pairing of art and literature is still considered to be one of the greatest achievements made by any artist in the field. Now, Wrightson and Dark Horse Books are collaborating on a beautiful new hardcover edition of the book, published in a larger 9" x 12" format intended to show off the exquisitely detailed line art of one of the greatest living artists in comics today. This book includes the complete text of the original ground-breaking novel, and the original forty-seven full-page illustrations that stunned the world with their monumental beauty and uniqueness.

HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION VOLUME 2: THE CHAINED COFFIN, THE RIGHT HAND OF DOOM, AND OTHERS Mike Mignola (W/A), Dave Stewart (C), Matthew Hollingsworth (C), and James Sinclair (C)On sale Oct 15 FC, 278 pages$49.95 HC, 9" x 12" Since Mike Mignola’s Hellboy first hit the stands in 1993, it has become a cultural sensation, racking up a dozen Eisner Awards and inspiring numerous spinoffs, from a novel line, to video games, to feature films. Now, Dark Horse is pleased to present the comics that started it all, collected in deluxe hardcover editions. Sized at a generous 9" by 12", and handsomely bound to match The Art of Hellboy, each volume contains two full story arcs -- the equivalent of two full trade paperbacks. Each volume of the Hellboy Library Editions also includes extensive supplemental materials, including previously unreleased sketches and designs.

AMERICAN FLAGG! VOL. 1 HC
Written by Howard Chaykin, art by Chaykin, James Sherman, Pat Broderick and Rick Burchett, cover by Chaykin. Available for the first time as a deluxe hardcover collecting the series' first groundbreaking story arc! Plus: Additional cover paintings and promotional pieces by Chaykin, a Michael Chabon introduction, an afterword by Jim Lee, and as a special bonus -- a brand-new American Flagg! story written and illustrated by Chaykin exclusively for this edition! Collects American Flagg! #1-14 440 pages, $49.99

SUPERMAN: KRYPTONITE HCWritten by Darwyn Cooke Art and cover by Tim SaleThe amazing story from SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #1-5 and 11 by Darwyn Cooke (DC: THE NEW FRONTIER) and Tim Sale (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, Heroes) is collected in hardcover. While Superman attempts to survive his first encounter with Kryptonite, will Lois Lane fall prey to a mysterious stranger? Advance-solicited; on September 10 • 160 pg, FC, $24.99 US

THE ALCOHOLIC HC Written by Jonathan Ames Art and cover by Dean Haspiel Jonathan A. is a boozed-up, coked-out, sexually confused, hopelessly romantic and, of course, entirely fictional novelist who bears only a coincidental resemblance to real-life writer Jonathan Ames, critically acclaimed author of Wake Up, Sir!, The Extra Man and What’s Not to Love? For the fictional Jonathan, writing and drinking come easy. The hard parts of life are love and hope. From a touching relationship between Jonathan and his aging great aunt, to an inebriated evening with an amorous, octogenarian dwarf, to the devastating aftermath of 9/11, Ames’s first original graphic novel, with gritty, poignant art by Dean Haspiel (THE QUITTER), tells a story at once hilarious, excruciating, bizarre and universal, about how our lives fall to pieces and the enduring human struggle to put things back together again.Advance-solicited; on sale September 17 • 6.875” x 9” • 136 pg, B&W, $19.99 US MATURE READERS

STRANGE & STRANGER: THE WORLD OF STEVE DITKO HC - Partial Color. by Blake Bell. The first critical retrospective of the work of the reclusive Spider-Man co-creator! Steve Ditko is best known as the co-creator, with Stan Lee, of Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and other classic Marvel and DC characters. But, in the context of Steve Ditko's 50-year career in comics, his creative involvement with Spider-Man is merely the tip of the iceberg. Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is a coffee table art book tracing Ditko's life and career, his unparalleled stylistic innovations, and his strict adherence to his philosophical principles, with lush displays of obscure and popular art from the thousands of pages of comics he's drawn over the last 55 years. 220 pages. (9x12)

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA TALES OF SUSPENSE VOL. 2 - VARIANT EDITION VOL. 98 272 PGS./All Ages …$59.99Written by STAN LEE, LARRY LIEBER & VARIOUSPenciled by JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, DON HECK,PAUL REINMAN & REED CRANDALLCover by JACK KIRBYIt seems you just can't scare the love of a good 80-foot thing from another dimension out of a Marvel Masterworks fan. We're not one to argue with anyone whose postal code reads ÒUnknownable BeyondÓ - so with regrets to the mailman, prepare your post office box for the likes of Sporr, Gor-Kill, Elektro, the Colossus, Metallo and Kraa the Unhuman! This collection from the beyond is full of more amazing monster firsts than Masterworks we've yet imagined, and there's no evidence better than the first-ever father/son space-monster invasion. Yes, it's none other than the fan-favorite Goom, and Googam, Son of Goom! Complemented by tales of thrilling suspense and sci-fi from Marvel Founding Fathers Steve Ditko and Don Heck, there's a something for anyone and everyone.

THE DOOM PATROL ARCHIVES VOL. 5 HC Written by Arnold Drake, art and cover by Bruno Premiani. In the final volume in the Doom Patrol series, featuring issues #114-121, the team battles the Mutant Master, the Galactic Gladiator, the Black Vulture, and more before meeting one of the strangest ends any super-team has ever experienced! 208 pages, $49.99, in stores on June 25.

THE STARMAN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC Written by James Robinson Art by Tony Harris, Wade Von Grawbadger and others Cover by Harris At last — the hit series created by James Robinson (BATMAN: FACE THE FACE) and Tony Harris (EX MACHINA) of the 1990s is collected in a series of six spectacular hardcover editions. This inaugural volume features a new cover by Harris and collects STARMAN #0-16, originally published from 1994 to 1996. Advance-resolicited; on sale May 21 • 6.75” x 10.25” • 448 pg, FC, $49.99

CREEPY ARCHIVES Various (W/A) On sale June 18b&w, 232 pages$49.95HC, 8 3/8" x 10 7/8" Gather up your wooden stakes, your blood-covered hatchets, and all the skeletons in the darkest depths of your closet, and prepare for a horrifying adventure into the darkest corners of comics history. Dark Horse Comics further corners the market on high quality horror storytelling with one of the most anticipated releases of the decade, a hardcover archive collection of legendary Creepy Magazine.

And these ten is not all that I have on order. There are certain trends in this industry and one of them is that if you wait it seems like almost everything will be reprinted or given hard cover treatment. Even if you own some of these books I believe this is a better way to enjoy you collection.