Today on the show I talk about the latest from TwoMorrows Publishing: Back Issue #50. This one is special because I compiled the Collected Editions piece. This is the second time I’ve contributed to BI the first was issue #44: Spider-Man in The Bronze Age. I can’t thank my Editor, Michael Eury enough. I love doing these rundowns of what you should collect and own and in my research I always find something new.

There’s also a lot of new to go over including a NYCC Contest from The Verbal Mosh podcast, a list of soon to be OOP HC’s and TPB’s from Marvel, Walking Dead Volume Zero (Image), Spirit World by Jack Kirby HC (DC Comics), Untold Tales Of Spider-Man Omnibus (Marvel) and two upcoming hardcovers of the original and very hard to find Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Image).

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Alter Ego started out as the first comic fanzine in March of 1961 by Jerry Bails in Detroit, Michigan. Thomas knew Bails from Wayne State University and was asked to be a contributor and has been at it ever since. Alter Ego, in case you don’t know, is a love letter to the medium and mostly focuses on comics from 1930-1970 but sometimes crosses into the 70′s and 80′s (that era is usually saved for Back Issue Magazine edited by Michael Eury). Now we have the Centennial issue and it is oversized with color and an extra page count. It features a Justice Society of America cover from Rich Buckler that was originally drawn for the All-Star Squadron preview from Justice League of America #193 (September 1981); Jerry Ordway did the inks. Among the pieces in this issue are:

• The Annotated Alter Ego #1, a complete reprint and look at the very first issue
• A tribute to A Giant Of The Industry: Mike Esposito by Frank Lovece
• A reproduction of the 1964 Superhero Calender with contributions from Jack Kirby, Alan Weiss and Russ Manning just to name a few.
• Correspondence, Comments and Letters from greats like Stan Lee and Dick Ayers
• A captivating pin-up art section of the super-heroines of the 1940′s by Alex Wright
• The Fawcett Collectors of America look at Superman and Captain Marvel meeting “for the first time” in 1942, retroactively, in the pages of All-Star Squadron #37 (September 1984)
• Tributes to Alter Ego #100 from creators and luminaries in the comic book industry
• 32 pages of commentary complete with gorgeous never before seen full color artwork

But the real gem of the book is part three of the Roy Thomas career retrospective which began in AE #50 (Roy at DC and Marvel in the 1960′s), AE #70 (Roy at Marvel in the 1970′s) and finishes up here with Roy back at DC in the 1980′s. The two previous Alter Ego magazines are available at TwoMorrow’s Publishing. The interview is conducted Jim Amash and you can tell by the looseness of the talk that they have been friends for years. Thomas sometimes goes so in-depth that you would swear that you are at the the drawing board with him. It also has a great look at the revival of the JSA in All-Star Squadron and Infinity Inc. in the 1980′s.

You see it a lot in comic book solicitations, but here it rings true: if you have never read Alter Ego, this is a great jumping on point. There is so much that AE has to offer. The tone of the magazine is welcoming and not highbrow. The history contained is both informational and educational as to how everything works and you even get some good backroom gossip, which is always fun. And catching up on past issues is easy and inexpensive as TwoMorrows offers digital editions at a fraction of the printed price. Finally, the art is fantastic, every issue Roy digs up new treasures for us to look over and drool. Did I tell you that in this Centennial issue there is a rarely seen Steve Ditko Spider-Man drawing made exclusively for the 1964 New York Comicon? In a word: Awesome! So go out and brush up on your history, you’ll learn much more then a thing or two.

My thanks to TwoMorrows for supplying me with a copy of this magazine.

Alter Ego: Centennial – The 100th Issue of Alter Ego
Edited by Roy Thomas
$19.99, 160 pages, TwoMorrows Publishing

My sincere thanks to Alter Ego contributor Lynn Walker for helping me with this post. If you are interested in more information on Alter Ego and classic comic books, please visit the Alter Ego Fans Yahoo Group. Anyone can join, all you have to do is request permission, telling us your real first and last name and something to prove you actually read the magazine and aren’t a spammer.

2011 should bring about more interviews for the podcast. I already have a few lined up and even follow-ups with past guests. As far as the site itself goes, I hope to add in a few more pages to the Library Section and I’m even working on a reprint specific Whitepaper. However, I am considering cutting back the podcast to every two weeks. I welcome your comments on that. The Twitter and Facebook pages continue to create a buzz and a following. I thank everyone who is involved with me on those platforms.

I’ll also continue to record monthly with my good friend John Mayo on his Comic Book Page podcast. John loves to crunch the numbers whether it be on the Trade side with me or on the monthly side with Bob Bretal (another good friend).

Professionally, I’ll have a one page short list on collected editions for the 1970s-80s Batman for Back Issue Magazine #50 (TwoMorrows), due out later this year. I hope everyone was able to get a copy of my previous work in Back Issue #44; you can buy a digital copy for only $3. I bet you forgot that I host the Tune-In Podcast. I almost did, too! The show will return in 2011. Seriously, I can’t thank John Morrow enough for the opportunity of freelancing for such a fine and professional company. I’ve made several new friends and I enjoy every minute of it.

In case you didn’t know, in 2010, I was also a ghost-writer on The Romita Legacy by Tom Spurgeon (Dynamic Forces/Dynamite). I had to pinch-hit for Tom on two occasions for interviews with John Romita Jr. I can’t thank Joe Rybant, Director of Marketing at Dynamite, enough for calling me at the last minute. I was nervous, like anyone would be, but I wouldn’t trade the experience in for anything. The soft cover version of the book will be out in February, 2011.

I was also mentioned in another book this past year, The Linked Photographers’ Guide To Online Marketing and Social Media by Lindsay Renee Adler and Rosh Sillars. I’ve known Rosh since high school and we’ve shared good times and good brew over the years.  He was the initial inspiration for me to get into podcasting (before it was podcasting) long ago. It’s been so fun to see him grow professorially and I thank him so much for including me in his book.

I’ll be attending C2E2 in Chicago, March 18-20. If you plan on going, please let me know and I’ll be happy to meet! There is a strong possibility I’ll be going to Comic-Con in San Diego. It’s been too long since I was last there and it’s about time I get back. Motor City Con and the Detroit Fanfare are both on my agenda, but the MCC always falls on the same weekend as my annual golf tournament and the Fanfare will be in downtown Detroit in late summer. Guess which one is a higher priority for me?

Mobile. That’s right – MOBILE. You should know that everything is now mobile – including this blog and podcast. It’s optimized for all platforms: iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Go to it right now and bookmark this site on your phone. It doesn’t cost anything and you’ll have all this wonderful Collected Edition information at your fingertips 24/7!

As for what I’m reading this week? Parker: The Outfit (IDW). Darwyn Cooke’s sequel to The Hunter, one of 2010 best graphic novels. I made the mistake of diving right in without going over the previous book and I was a bit lost. I got about halfway through, stopped and started over with the first book. I’m glad I did because it made for a more concise story. But that’s just me; it may be different from you.

I have a stack of other books to get to and I plan on getting to all of them ASAP. It’s going to be a fun 2011, full of surprises, superheroes and of the cuff books that you may not be aware of.

I’ve read scores of hardcovers and trade paperbacks over the years. Countless character moments and story lines, too. But what about the men (and women) behind the comics that we pick up every Wednesday? Where do the ideas or artistic talent come from? I’ve been getting into more and more biographies lately because, truth be told, I feel I’ve hit a ceiling. I’ve read just about every comic on anyone’s Top 100 List the past two decades or so and I want learn learn more about the people behind it all. Sure Introductions and Afterwords in Absolutes and Omnibuses are fine but they only give you a glimpse as to what the creator was thinking at the time. That’s where books like Modern Masters from TwoMorrows Publishing comes in handy. They are chock full of interviews and insights that we readers rarely get to see. Other companies like Fantagraphics, IDW, Abrams and DC and Marvel are making great strides these days, too. So today we take a look at a few of my favorites biographies and I ask for some of yours.

Also on the show this week: Canada Reads and Essex County, The Complete Lynda Barry and e-mails regarding Archie Comics and binding your own hardcovers.

All this and the New Releases of the Week.

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Thursday July 22, 5:00-6:00 The 5th Annual Comics Podcasting Panel!— Five years ago, the comics podcasting stars came together on one panel for the first time in San Diego, and now they’re back to discuss comics, podcasting, and how the comic book industry has changed since that first panel. Podcasters appearing on the panel include John Siuntres (Word Balloon), Josh Flanagan (iFanboy), Jimmy Aquino (Comic News Insider),Brian “Pants” Christman (Comic Geek Speak), Bob Bretall (The Comic Book Page), and Cameron Hatheway (Cammy’s Comic Corner). Don’t miss your chance to see all your favorite podcasters on one panel! Room 32AB

Like in past years it will probably be recorded (by iFanboy). I’ll post a link when is goes up. Congrats to all who is on this years panel. I was fortunate enough to be on the first one.

Another panel on Thursday worth going to is:

2:30-3:30 BrickJournal: Looking at the LEGO Community— In the past decade, a community of adult LEGO builders has sprung up and created models, websites, and even conventions. The staff of BrickJournal, the magazine for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages, invites you to take a look at the community (and what it builds) at this presentation, with Brandon Griffith (top LEGO builder), Jonathan Bender (author ofLEGO: A Love Story), Nathan Sawaya (LEGO certified professional builder), and Jim Foulds (community operations manager for the LEGO Group). The panel is moderated by BrickJournal editor Joe Meno. There will be a Q&A afterward, so if you have any questions about the community, events, builders, or even the LEGO company, this is the place to be! Room 7AB

BrickJournal is a publication of TwoMorrows, of which I host their Tune-In Podcast, so it’s a shameless plug. If you go say hello to Joe Meno and tell him what a great job he and his team are doing.

Saturday should be a blast with:

Saturday, July 24, 12:30-1:30 Spotlight on Brian Michael Bendis— The controversial Marvel writer and Comic-Con special guest Brian Michael Bendis turns his spotlight panel into a live taping of the popular Word Balloon Bendis tapes. Word Balloon podcast host John Suitress will moderate the panel and take questions from the audience, with nothing off limits. Bendis will also be giving away limited-edition variant covers of his new creator-owned series Scarlet. Room 6DE

Not to miss on Sunday:

Sunday, July 25, 10:00-11:00 Jack Kirby Tribute— It’s time once again to pay tribute to Jack “King” Kirby, the prolific writer/artist who co-created some of the world’s most famous superheroes, including the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, the New Gods, and many more. Kirby biographer and friend Mark Evanier (Kirby: King of Comics) hosts this annual Comic-Con tradition and is joined this year by writers Marv Wolfman(Tomb of Dracula, New Teen Titans), and Kurt Busiek (Astro City, JLA/Avengers) and other Kirby fanatics to discuss the King. Room 4

One link to note at this time:

Heidi MacDonald has posted Diamond’s Top Ten and market share information for June. I’ll be taking a look at the list over the weekend and give my thoughts on Monday and you can look for a podcast of John Mayo and I either very soon (pre-Comic Con) or very late (post-Comic Con). At just a glance at the Graphic Novel and Trade Paperbacks you’ll notice that there are four books from the Vertigo (DC) imprint and no Marvel 616 book made the cut!

This week on the show, I welcome in Steve Saffel to talk about his book, The Best of Simon and Kirby (Titan). A lot of care went into creating this lavish look back on the dream team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby from the Golden Age of Comics. Steve gets into all the details, from the beginning and the reasons why it was published, to what is included, and what is still yet to come. Steve and I also chat about his time at Marvel, TwoMorrows Publishing, Comic Cons and Mark Evanier’s Kirby: King of Comics, which can be seen as a companion, of sorts, to Steve’s book. I’ll post a full written review of the book, including all of the exact contents, in a few weeks.

For more information on this book, please check out the very nice Best of Simon and Kirby site at Titan Books.

Collected Comics Library Podcast #233
50,774Kb; 53m 53s

Chris

Please visit my site sponsors: In-Stock Trades, Forbidden Planet International (UK), and Library Binding Company.

• At the request of Marvel Comics, TwoMorrow’s Publishing has revised the cover art for Marvel Comics In The 1960s by Pierre Comtois. John Morrows writes, ...don’t worry; there wasn’t any kind of terrible confrontational situation with Marvel over the book. They simply felt it looked too much like a licensed Marvel product with the original piece, rather than the scholarly historical work that it is, and asked us to change it. Posted are the original and the revised covers, you decide.
• The 2009 DC Archives Survey is live and runs through August 20. Please show your support of the program by filling out the form, it takes all of 5 minutes to do so. You can the discuss the Survey at the Official DC Archive Forum.
• Marvel will be publishing the Fantastic Four Omnibus by Mark Millar and Brian Hitch. According to the listing on Amazon.ca, it’s due February 2010 and is projected to collect FF #554-570; $75.00. More info as it happens.
• It was announced at the DC Nation Panel at the Chicago Comic Con that Wednesday Comics will be collected as a series of Trade Paperbacks for each individual character – so 16 trades in all. I’m hoping that the trades will be oversized.
• Hugo Winners Announced, they are given out for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year.
• Media Release – IDW Publishing is pleased to announce The ACT-I-VATE Primer, an all-new hardcover anthology featuring sixteen stories and eighteen creators from the premiere webcomix collective, ACT-I-VATE.com. IDW will release this groundbreaking collection in October 2009, complete with a foreword by Warren Ellis.
• Media Release — D+Q has acquired world rights to two all-new Lynda Barry books, The Near Sighted Monkey Book: Picture This, and a prose novel, Birdis.
• Dan Vado hosted solo a very laid-back panel at San Diego’s Comic Con International, featuring video trailers of upcoming SLG Publishing books. Thanks to CBR.
• In a new deal, urban fantasy author Kim Harrison will script three original stories for graphic novels from Del Rey Books.
• I’m with Joe, FPI Blog, on this one. The trailer for the Windell Classics Compendium Superhero Showcase is just damn cool.
• Review: Collected Editions Blog on Final Crisis Companion TP (DC Comics).
• Finally, you want links? Comic Related has them all.

This month on the show, host Chris Marshall sits down with Jim Amash (Alter Ego) and Eric Nolen-Weathington (Modern Masters) to talk about their upcoming book Sal Buscema: Comics Fast and Furious Artist!
Chris also goes over all of the July 2009 releases and talks about what TwoMorrows has in store, including all the panels, at Comic-Con International later this month..

Direct Podcast Feed or Subscribe with iTunes

e-mail Chris with questions and/or comments. He may even read it on the next Tune-In!

On to some links:

• TwoMorrows Publishing has extended their 50% off sale on over 30 books though through the July 4th weekend.
• 2009 Harvey Award Nominees Announced! Congratulations to my friend and TwoMorrows colleague, Mike Manley, nominated for Draw! in the Best Biographical, Historical Or Journalistic Presentation category.
• Glen Weldon, NPR, has 8 Practical Uses For The Giant Graphic Novel George Sprott, 1894-1975.
• Eddie Campbell shows off a new story that will be included in the upcoming Alec Omnibus, which is now titled Alec: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Size Omnibus).
• More Colleted Editions from Howard Chaykin and Dynamite Entertainment including Power and Glory, Black Kiss! and Midnight Men. (Thanks to Newsarama).
• Official Press Release, Archaia Unveils New Quarterly $9.95 Hardcover Program.
• The Collected Editions Blog has the rundown of some 2010 DC Comics Collected Editions, including Starman Omnibus Vol. 4, Hitman Vol. 2: Ten Thousand Bullets and Superman: New Krypton.