Patrick's Hat Trick: Why aren't these collections still in print?

by Patrick

Why worry? It's just me, Patrick, returning with another hat trick. Since we were blessed with the short work week this week, new comics won't come out until tomorrow. So rather than the normal review, this week we are going to the bookshelf to look at three trade-paperbacks and ask "Why aren't these books still in print?"

Robocop Vs. Terminator: The rebels of the Terminators future have found out there was a human mind that was attached to Skynet to give it sentience. And that mind was Alex Murphy's AKA Robocop. So the rebels sent a person back to kill Robocop, and she succeeds. In order to stop that Terminators sent back a unit to stop her. And it does. Then Murphy starts to figure things out. More Terminators show up. And lot and lots of things blow up. Written by the guy who wrote Robocop 2 and 3. A guy who had a little bit of a comic background named Frank Miller. And drawn by a Walt Simonson who was at the top of his game. This book needs to be back in print. Not only that, but the original trade is very weird. It was published by Diamond and what they did was take the comics themselves and bound them together. The covers are on cover stock. The adds and letter pages are still in there. As are the cardboard cutouts that were in every issue. It would be nice to have an addition that read more like a trade without adds and such.

Marvel Monster Masterworks: You might think that with Marvel doing well with both it's various Jack Kirby Collections (Essentials and Omnibus, as well as trades of things like a his runs on Cap) and it's various Marvel monsters (things like old Dracula, werewolf, and newer things like Marvel Zombies) a collection of the best pre-marvel Kirby monster stories would be a no-brainer to have in print. Yet this collection from 1989 has been out of print for a long long time. Divided into sections such as Alien Invaders, Man Made Monsters, and Ancient Menaces. and packed with great creatures such as The Glop, X The Thing That Lived, and that most revered of Marvel monsters, Fin Fang Foom. I do believe the day has come for this collection to be back in print.

Scott McCloud's Zot! Book One: One of the many tragedies is that we never got the final collection of Scott "Understanding Comics" McCloud's Zot!. We, that wrong was finally righted with Harper Collins publishing Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991 a few weeks ago, we got finally got those issues we missed the first time around. And while it is great to have any of this great strip back in print, I think it's a crime that these first ten remain out of print. They are filled with charm, wit, and great characters. And he's all over the internet this week with his Google browser comic, I love my new Black and White collection, but it's only the 2nd half of the Zot! Story. We finnaly got the final issues in a collected format, now bring back the first!

So, do I think they will they ever bring these books back in print?

Well, until they do, I'll treasure the copies I have and hope that others will get to join me in my appreciation of these fine volumes someday.

So, any treasures on your bookshelf that you think should be back in print? Share your thoughts in the comments and we'll see you next time.

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From Top to Bottom #16: Marvel's Star Wars Greatest Hits

by Matt

Welcome to the 16th edition of the long running and Emmy winning "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

Last week, I looked at the Top and Bottom of Comic Book Comforts. Comics that acted like they were comfort foods. These were comic books (mini-series in particular) that do the same thing. They make me feel happy every time I read them and I can read them anytime. Which is why I named that column the way I did. This week's column, in celebration of Star Wars week (and to give Brandon a break from all the writing!) I decided to take a peek back to the past when I was a kid and I collected Star Wars comics from Marvel. For this column I am going to do something a little different. I am going to revisit my Top 3 Marvel Star Wars comics that I remember loving and then my Bottom 3 and we'll see how they held up.

I love Star Wars. I grew up with Star Wars, I was lucky enough to see all the films in the theatre and I was hooked. I collected the toys and would play Star Wars with my friends all the time. I remember when my dad came home from work and brought me a slurpee and a Star Wars comic! It was Star Wars #23 and this helped pave the way to my addiction to comic books in general. I collected the Star Wars religiously until Return of the Jedi and quit shortly after. I was so happy when Dark Horse collected the entire Marvel run in a series of trades. Some of the stories hold up, some others do not and some others are always going to be cheesy. Here are my Top 3 Marvel Star Wars stories along with what I consider to be Jar Jar Binks-like. Again, these picks were based on my favorites when I was a kid, we'll see after re-reading them if they still hold up. And those stories I hated as a kid? We'll see if I still hate them.

3) Star Wars #38
Riders in the Void
This issue was supposed to be the first part of the Empire Strikes Back adaptation but it was delayed and we got a dreaded fill-in issue only this became one of my favorites. Luke and Leia were on a mission when they were attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer. They barely escaped after being attacked and wound up beyond the galaxy and into the starless void. They were snagged by a strange, living ship and subjected to being tested. The ship then decides to help them go home but the Empire has found them. Michael Golden provided some terrific art on this, his rendition of the Star Destroyers blasting the alien ship was awesome. And I still find this story awesome, the art holds up and now I understand what is going on more. Still a great fill-in.

2) Star Wars #33-37
Saber Clash/Dark Lord's Gambit
Baron Tagge wanted to be more favored to the Emperor than Darth Vader and this story showed how cunning and evil Darth Vader is and how heroic Luke was. Tagge and Luke dueled in the first part of this story and Luke showed mercy and how good at dueling he was by destroying his cybervision and rendering him helpless. Like Darth Vader had done before him. The story leads to both the Empire and the Alliance courting the Tagge family for assistance, only this is just a trap to get Luke. Luke and Vader duel in a fantastic fight and in the end, Luke kills Vader but we find that it wasn't Vader, it was a Sith illusion, it was really Baron Tagge. I cannot explain it all, you just have to track down this story. It certainly holds up, in fact I get this story more now that I am older and I can understand it.


1) Star Wars #60-63
Screams in the Void/Pariah
Ah, Shira Brie. I loved this character when she was introduced. She made a perfect rival to Leia for the affections of Luke and she was tough as nails. In this storyline, the Rebels capture a bunch of TIE Fighters and Luke leads a team (including Shira Brie) in the TIE Fighters to destroy special Teezl, which was a communication beacon that allowed the Empire to communicate instantaneously. They attack the Imperial Fleet and during the battle the communication between the Rebels goes dead. Luke finds the Teezl but there is a TIE fighter there, he uses the Force to determine if it is friendly and it is not so he shoots down the TIE Fighter and destroys the Teezl. Luke then discovers that pilot of the TIE that Luke destroyed was Shira Brie. So he goes on a quest to find out who Shira Brie is and the answer shocked me! I loved this run because the art from Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer was absolutely fantastic and the stories were absolutely fun. I remember these Star Wars comics the most!

I liked those Star Wars stories as much as I remembered I enjoyed them. In fact, I enjoyed re-reading my #2 selection a lot more than I thought I would. They were as good as I remember. And now for the Bottom 3, the Star Wars comics that I really disliked when I was a kid. They were not as horrible as I remember but I still don't care for these stories.

3) Star Wars #46
The Dreams of Cody Sunn-Childe
Lando and Chewbacca are searching for Han when they traveled to another dimension that was home to the legendary Rebel warrior Cody Sunn-Childe. Sunn-Childe no longer wants to fight when he finds out that he has this mystical ability to create this dimension. The Empire finds them and Cody unleashes his powers and destroys Star Destroyers, he realizes that this is not the way and decides to be true to his beliefs and lets him and his followers and city be destroyed. Lando and Chewbacca escape and the Imperials are stuck in that dimension. Did I still dislike it? It was better than I remember but I still am not a fan of magic or mystical stuff like the monster that could destroy a Star Destroyer. I can tolerate the Force and some magical, mystic forces in Star Wars but as a kid I thought this was over the top.

2) Star Wars #67
The Darker
On the planet Arbram, R2-D2 gets lost and C3-P0, Plif and Chewbacca follow to see where he is. They find the Darker, an evil being. They fight the creature and Chewbacca lays a smackdown on the Darker and kills him. I still don't like this story. When I was a kid, I would play Star Wars and it was always the Rebellion versus the Empire. I never came up with stories like this and I couldn't tolerate this type of story. Just seemed stupid to me.





1) Star Wars Annual #2
Shadeshine
Luke, C3-P0 and Lando are escaping from Stormtroopers when they find a gold statue of Han Solo. I didn't get too far when I read this because I came across a panel that freaked me out and to this day I cannot look at it. Go ahead and call me chicken but I didn't re-read this annual because I was creeped out. Check out the panels below: BRRRRRR!



The Dark Horse series of trade paperbacks was well worth getting this nostalgic gems back in my hands and now I can read the full collection. Surprisingly, they all do hold up pretty well. I enjoy pulling these books off my bookshelf and reliving my childhood. What ones were your favorites?
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X-Cover Favourites, the Not-So-Definitive List

by Yassir

I have been reading about everybody’s favourite Band of Mutants for over twenty years. That should tell you that I’m a fan, and also indicate that I’m in my 30s. Whilst ploughing through the hundreds of potential covers for my list, it re-invigorated my love for these characters. Let’s face it: the X-Men, when on their game, absolutely rock. The following is my by-no-means-definitive list of favourite X-covers, in no particular order.


Uncanny X-Men #138
Cover art: John Byrne

The first of several Byrne covers and, like the others, one of the most iconic covers in comics full stop. Why do I like this cover so much? I guess a lot of it comes from nostalgia (and indeed that can and does apply to the rest of the list). A lot of it also comes from the fact that, along with Walt Simonson, I think Byrne drew the definitive Cyclops - (this is definitely in the past tense – Byrne’s current ‘output’ is rubbish, and that’s me being polite!) – and this cover is a good example of that. I guess all this rambling is just another way of saying I like this cover. I like it a lot.



X-Men #58 (pre-Uncanny)
Cover art: Neal Adams

No I didn’t read this first time round, and actually I didn’t read the Claremont/Byrne issues until the excellent Classic X-Men series, but how cool is this cover? Neal Adams is a comic great and this cover shows why. A lot of people will take this sort of stuff for granted but what Adams was doing then (along with Steranko) was pioneering. I love the composition of the cover and the technique. It doesn’t hurt either that Havok’s original costume remains a personal favourite.



Giant-Size X-Men #1
Cover art: Dave Cockrum

If we are speaking of iconic, then apart from Marvel’s output in the ‘60s and DC’s in the late ‘30s, you aren’t going to get much more iconic than this. I remember buying Classic X-Men #1 (which featured a nifty cover by Art Adams and narrowly missed out on making this list) and when I saw the cover for this (I think it was on the inside front cover) I was blown away by it all. It showed that everything had changed and that this was not mere hyperbole. ‘All New, All Different’ was for once absolutely spot on. It can be argued that I’ve chosen this cover more for its iconic status than its technical merit, and there certainly is a case for that, but again, although this kind of cover is commonplace nowadays, it was wonderfully inventive back then, and the fact that it still has an impact to this day speaks wonders.



Uncanny X-Men #251
Cover art: Marc Silvestri

This was when I was avidly collecting X-Men. Although it coincided with the beginning of Claremont’s decline (I won’t take the blame for that!) there were still a few gems in this period. This issue was one of those, albeit I haven’t re-read it for over ten years so I may be wrong. The cover itself is wonderfully simple but very striking. It is an obvious riff on the crucifixion but to my mind it works. Furthermore, this was when Silvestri was a craftsman rather than a Jim Lee wannabe.

There. I said it.



Uncanny X-Men #141
Cover art: John Byrne

Another Byrne cover, another iconic cover (there’s more to come). How many times has this cover been copied? How many times have artists paid ‘homage’ to this endearing classic? No, seriously, how many times? I don’t know! This story is rightly considered a classic, but it’s also to blame for the deluge of futuristic X-book storylines leading to the convoluted mess it has now become. Back then though this was like a sharp jolt. The cover for the following issue and the next part in this story is another classic, but I opted for this one. It’s clear that something’s not right here; the cover does what is all so rare nowadays – it makes you pick up the issue because you want to know what it all means.



Uncanny X-Men #207
Cover art: John Romita, Jr.

What an awesome cover.

There really isn’t much more to say except I always preferred Wolvie’s Brown and Tan costume.










Marvel Comics Presents #77
Cover art: Barry Windsor Smith

Why didn’t they stop after this regarding Wolverine’s origin? To my mind this was all we needed to know about his tragic past. Oh well. BWS drew a fantastic Wolverine. My only (slight) gripe was that he drew Wolvie a bit too tall but hey, if it works for Hugh Jackman…

This cover really does capture the feral and bestial nature of my second favourite X-man (Cyke is my favourite). It also captures the loner nature of the character. Great cover.



New X-Men #114
Cover art: Frank Quitely

I know Quitely is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I thought he was a wonderful breath of fresh air. It’s also quite telling that this is the one and only selection from the 21st century. This is not a reflection on the quality of the stories, as I feel they have improved of late, but rather it’s a reflection on the dearth of good comic covers, a malaise not only afflicting the X books but comics as a whole (particularly Marvel). This cover promised something new with its flashy new costumes and its swirling background suggesting a new genesis. The cover definitely delivered. Morrison for all his talents, however, simply revisited Claremont’s stories.



X-Factor #13
Cover art: Walt Simonson

I think I’m the only guy who would select this, but I remember finding this in my local Newsagents and just loving Simonson’s Phoenix. Everything about this cover ticks all the boxes for me: Cyke, the various images of Jean, the X-Factor logo (still one of my favourites), the Phoenix bird ever ominous…Walt Simonson is one of my favourite artists ever and it’s a rare thing when you find a cover of his that isn’t dynamic. This cover is not the exception (cue everybody disagreeing with me – bring it)!!!!!



Uncanny X-Men #135
Cover art: John Byrne

Byrne. Again. At his peak he was the pre-Image poster boy. Admittedly this cover was a homage to Neal Adams’ X-Men cover with the Living Monolith (Did Byrne acknowledge Adams? I can’t see any nod to him on the cover – tsk tsk). To be honest I could have chosen any cover from this issue up to the death of Phoenix issue. I went for this one because this really showed how much the shit had hit the fan.


So there you have it. This was a lot of fun. It brought back a lot of happy childhood memories and it reminded me just why I love the X-men so much. Read more!