MARKLEY’S FEVERED BRAIN: even though I DO NOT celebrate CHRISTMAS, I STILL have tips FOR gifts

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Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

With Christmas rapidly racing towards us, I believed it would be great time to do my annual suggestions for holiday reading. I am going to focus on a few new releases as special gifts as well as perhaps one or two blasts from the past as well. Of course, there are numerous evaluations as well as tips in my prior blogs over the last few years, all of which can be discovered here. all of these are my personal picks as well as do not show the views of the Westfield business or their employees. Also, I would extremely suggest you inspect www.westfieldcomics.com for availabilty.

Star Trek: The newspaper Comics Vol. 1

The very first book I would like to suggest came out this past week as well as is star Trek: The newspaper Comics Vol. 1 from IDW. This is a extremely good collection of the very first two years of the star trip newspaper strip that ran from 1977-1981. I would be one of the very first people to grumble about there being as well much star trip material out there, however these strips are a extremely good addition to any type of star trip fan’s collection as they have seldom been seen. To the very best of my knowledge, they have only been reprinted when in a little newspaper style booklet from about 25 years ago. This hardcover book is far nicer than the pamphlet from numerous years back as well as in what I think about a major plus, it reprints the Sunday strips in full color. To be honest, the reproduction in these strips does leave something to be desired, however because these strips are so difficult to discover it is a genuine treat to be able to see this strip collected at last. I ought to point out that these strips function the cast from the original star trip series from 1966-1969. Yes, Kirk, Spock, McCoy as well as the rest, as well as the dialogue truly seem to catch those characters. There is a second volume arranged for the spring with the rest of the strips putting the total strip in print for the very first time in over 30 years.

Pogo: The total Syndicated Comic Strips Vol. 2

Next is one more newspaper strip collection, this time around from Fantagraphics. It is the second volume of the total Pogo. When the very first volume of this strip came out about a year ago, I raved as well as raved about it as well as admitted I was not the most significant Pogo fan prior to reading the very first volume. having checked out the second volume, I am now even a bigger fan than I was after reading volume one. Walt Kelly’s art is a delight to look at as well as his dialogue as well as word play is just stunning. Pogo is a strip that you get much more as well as much more out of the much more you checked out it. It is full of political as well as social references as well as a few of the references I miss, however thankfully, there is a glossary in the back of the book notating all the political as well as social events that Kelly was commenting on in the strips. It is an remarkable collection as it is a work of charm in addition to a piece of history. just like the star trip collection above, the Sundays are reproduced in full color. While I have some problems with the high quality of the reproduction of the star trip strips, the reproduction of these Pogo strips is top of the line as well as rivals the amazing reproduction in Fantagraphics’ prince Valiant collections. (A extremely different strip however similarly as great as well as as beautiful).

Spacehawk

Thirdly, we have for the very first time the total Spacehawk collection by fundamental Wolverton. Spacehawk has been reprinted numerous times throughout the years in a range of formats, however this is the very first time every story has been in a single volume. This is when once again from Fantagraphics as well as is in full color. While Basil Wolverton is finest understood for his bizarre caricatures in mad as well as Plop, he did do a superhero/science fiction comic at one time called Spacehawk. This large softcover is available in at over 250 page sand includes the covers. Spacehawk appeared in the pages of Target Comics from 1940 to 1942. Within these pages, Spacehawk battles whatever from aliens to Nazis to the Japanese. While Spacehawk is a science fiction story by its premise, the actual stories took location on earth as well as against the villains of the time for the most part. This book is worth getting for a number of reasons, very first off is its historical value. Spacehawk was a distinct character, at least for the time it very first came out, as well as holds an essential location in comic book history. Secondly, for the remarkable art by Basil Wolverton. In the history of comics, there are extremely few, if any, that had such a distinct style as Wolverton which, while as far away as you can get from traditional illustrators like Raymond or Foster, it is every bit as great in its own distinct way.

The Art of Betty as well as Veronica

I have long raved about Archie Comics. I am especially a huge fan of the Archie stories from the 1950s to the early-70s. To see a few of the very best of this traditional period, I would strongly suggested any type of of the volumes of the very best of Dan DeCarlo, Samm Schwartz, Harry Lucey, or Stan Goldberg. all of these are full color hardbacks dedicated to every of these traditional Archie artists as well as there are several volumes for every artist as well as all of these are published by IDW. These are a delight to read. however these are not what I am recommending this holiday season, however instead I am suggesting the Art of Betty as well as Veronica by Craig Yoe as well as Victor Gorelick. This as well is a full color hardcover however it is published by Archie Comics. It collects a broad range of stories, original art, pin-ups, as well as history about these two finest friends. While the “Best of” books are dedicated to one artist, this collection shares with you samples from all the excellent Archie artists from over the years. The book is damaged down into chapters as well as each chapter is dedicated to a different decade. With each chapter there is an introduction discussing the modifications that Betty as well as Veronica have gone with that decade as well as pointing out all kind of fascinating bit understood facts. This book is a excellent primer for somebody who was when an Archie fan as well as has drifted away, or for a new fan searching for a method to sample the fantastic 70 year history of this ever entertaining charming triangle.

The excellent Treasury of Christmas Comic book Stories

Finally, speaking of Craig Yoe, I would like to suggest a book that came out a few years back from the fantastic Mr. Yoe called The excellent Treasury of Christmas Comic book Stories. This is a lovely full color hardcover collecting Christmas stores from a broad of range of comics from the 1930s-1960s. Within these pages are stories by such greats as Walt Kelly as well as John Stanley as well as numerous more. There are 21 stories right here starring everybody for the elves to great Old St. Nick himself. There is even an old traditional or two such as A Christmas Carol. This book is so great I would really suggest it for any type of occasion, from a birthday, anniversary, or even a pleased new Comic book Day present. This may be the very best book for the holiday season as the stories as well as production are all top notch as well as it is such a delight to read.

I have barely scratched the surface of all the excellent material available this holiday season. There are so numerous excellent books to select from, I have only chosen a few for holiday shopping. I welcome as well as look ahead to your tips of what books you would recommend, or any type of other comments you may have, at MFBWAY@AOL.COM.

Thank you.