bound for greatness ( dc's upcoming collected editions)

Word on the street is it's gonna look like this, but with you instead of Julius.

http://superman.ws/tales2/lastPrime/0.gif

Yeah, that's where the Seven Soldiers incarnation of Frankenstein! originated. Although I doubt that they'll reprint that stuff, as Frankenstein was a back-up. But then, I'm not entirely sure they need to reprint that stuff.

Showcase Challengers = def. the pic of this bunch - i mean, jack kirby inked by wally wood ffs, it doesn't get any better - also chance to study in depth the most obv. proto-FF/Marvel Kirby Komik of em all - these issues are super expensive, so this vol = a bargain (tho i imagine the ppl who shelled out for two expensive colour hardcover archives of the same stuff will be a bit moreambivalent) - Essential Rating 10/10

Showcase Phantom Stranger = well again nice a/work - Jim Aparo esp. -but k-lame scripts and 'concepts' ie spooky bloke in cape+cap yawn
Essential Rating 5/10

Showcase Shazam - as Kit says, this one is inexplicable - DC's failed attempt to revive the spirit of a classic golden age character that they actually put out of business, first time round - ill-conceived+awkward on every level - and esp. frustrating when DC have the rights to all of the great CC Beck Captain Marvel strips from the 40s+50s - Essential Rating 3/10

That's the only one they should bother reprinting then!

GREAT IDEA, Veronica.

To come:

Jan

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VOL. 2

Written by Gardner Fox; Art by Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs; Cover by Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson

Presenting another jam-packed volume full of adventure, collecting JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17-36! In this volume, the JLA battles Kanjar Ro, Despero, the Queen Bee, Amazo, Dr. Destiny, and their evil counterparts, the Crime Syndicate of America.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD — THE BATMAN TEAM-UPS VOL. 1

Written by Bob Haney and Mike Sekowsky Cover by Bob Brown; Art by Carmine Infantino, Ross Andru, Neal Adams, and others

Collecting The Brave and The Bold #59, #64, #67, #69-71 and #74-87! Re-presented here are Batman's earliest team-ups with Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Atom, Hawkman and more!

Feb

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY VOL. 2

Written and illustrated by Various; Cover by Nick Cardy

Do you dare to enter the House of Mystery? This value-priced collection includes stories from HOUSE OF MYSTERY #195-211. These fantastic black-and-white tales of mystery and suspence from the 1970s feature thrilling stories with surprise twist endings that will keep readers on the edges of their seats!

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: AQUAMAN VOL. 1

Written by Robert Bernstein and Jack Miller; Art by Ramona Fradon, Kurt Schaffenberger, Nick Cardy and others; Cover by Jim Aparo

Collecting classic tales of Aquaman from ADVENTURE COMICS #260-280, 282 and 284 and more! Over 500 pages highlighting classic tales of Aquaman, featuring the debuts of Mera and Aqualad!

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: GREEN LANTERN VOL. 2

Written by John Broome and Gardner Fox; Art by Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino and others; Cover by Kane

Over 500 pages of black-and-white comics are included in this fast-paced collection that features the Emerald Warrior's battles with the beautiful Star Sapphire, would-be world conqueror Sonar, and the renegade Green Lantern known as Sinestro from GREEN LANTERN #18-37 and THE FLASH #143.

March

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: HAWKMAN VOL. 1

Written by Gardner Fox and Bob Haney; Art by Joe Kubert, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino and others; Cover by Joe Kubert

In this fantastic volume filled with over 500 pages of classic 1960s stories, Hawkman and Hawkgirl face menaces including the Shadow Thief and Matter Master, and team up with Adam Strange and Aquaman!

April

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL. 1

Written by Jerry Siegel, Otto Binder, Edmond Hamilton and various; Art by Curt Swan, George Papp, John Forte and various; Cover by Swan and Stan Kaye

A massive black-and-white volume collecting classic tales of the Legionnaires, from ADVENTURE COMICS #247, 267, 282, 290, 293, and 300-328, ACTION COMICS #267, 276, 287 and 289, SUPERBOY #86, 89, 98 and 117, SUPERMAN 147, SUPERMAN ANNUAL #4, and SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN#72 and 76!

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERMAN VOL. 3

Written by Jerry Siegel and others; Art by Curt Swan and others; Cover by Swan

The third volume collecting early Superman adventures in black-and-white at a value price! This amazing collection includes appearances by Supergirl and Krypto and a retelling of Superman's origin, plus threats from Lex Luthor, Brainiac, the Legion of Super-Villains and the Fifth Dimensional imp known as Mr. Mxyzptlk!

HoM 2 is a shock. WHERE THE FUCK IS FLASH?

and Superman Vol. 3, of course.

I see that Action Heroes Archives vol 2 is gonna be Charlton Ditko wackiness galore: his remaining Captain Atoms with his complete '60s Blue Beetle and Question yarns—not too many of 'em, but still…of course, its like $50 or something…

I'm psyched about the Hawkman thing too. And I'd love to see some kind of "roots of 52" Showcase with all the old stories they've been referencing... Where is my Superman Family vol. 2, though? I would also happily read Jonah Hex vol. 2, but that's unlikely to happen because of DC's weird late-'70s-reprint-royalty problem.

That Ditko Blue Beetle/Question thing's gonna be great.

Oh, wait - Douglas is talking about THE ACTUAL STORIES that tie into 52's plot. Nevermind.

Kind of surprised we haven't seen Showcase Presents The Atom yet given the Infinitely Identily Crisisistic trackbacks. And thinking about House Of Mystery, the strangest thing is possibly that we're getting a Vol 2 of that without a House Of Secrets Vol 1.

that Ditko Archive sounds mouth-watering, but I sure hope it includes Mysterious Suspense 1, easily one of Ditko's top three comics ever

i don't know abt this late 70s reprint-royalty prob that Douglas refers to - DC have reprinted things like the Englehart/Rogers Batmans in the past

"DC pays a royalty based on a percentage of the cover price to writers, pencillers,and inkers to all material published prior to 1976 and after 1997. For the period in between, the vouchers that were in use called for a set reprint fee to be paid. In some cases, the amount of contractually obligated reprint fees makes the budget for a proposed collection unprofitable. In those cases, DC will either scrap the project or ask the talent involved to waive the reprint fee in lieu of the standard royalty arrangement. If the parties agree, then everyone benefits."

http://the-isb.blogspot.com/2006/11/crank-file-brave-and-bold-115.html

http://the-isb.blogspot.com/2006/12/boxing-day-special-may-best-man-die.html

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3841/751/1600/BraveAndTheBold124.jpg

If only this issue were in the collection!

Awesomeness:
GOTHAM CENTRAL VOL. 5: DEAD ROBIN--my favorite storyline from a series I really liked
SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ATOM VOL. 1
SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATGIRL VOL. 1
SUPERMAN: THE AMAZING TRANSFORMATIONS OF JIMMY OLSEN
JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 2
SHOWCASE PRESENTS ADAM STRANGE VOL. 1

and isn't J'onn J'onzz drawn like Telly Savalas?