One of the most iconic characters in popular literature, Doc Savage is the perfection of the human ideal, an adventurer and humanitarian who seeks to guide the world into a new age. A brilliant inventor, master of hand-to-hand combat and leader of that band of experts the Fabulous Five, Doc enjoyed a series of amazing adventures through over 180 pulp novels, comic books from both Marvel and DC Comics and more.
Here’s an excellent guide to Doc Savage for those interested…
Doc Savage is finally headed to DVD as part of the Warner Bros. Archive Collection.
Actor Ron Ely had the rare opportunity to star as two of the pulps most renowned heroes, Tarzan and Doc Savage. Legendary director of War of the Worlds, George Pal helmed the Man of Bronze in what promised to be an thrilling action drama. Sadly, the movie performed badly and contained more than its share of camp moments. Nevertheless, even the most disappointed fan of the character has to admit that Ely perfectly embodied the role.
RON ELY DISCUSSES TARZAN, DOC SAVAGE FOR WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION RELEASES
In the late 1960s and early 70s, few actors stood as tall in their heroic roles as Ron Ely.
From television’s Tarzan to the big screen’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, Ely’s 6-foot-4-inch muscular frame made the scenery cower when he stepped before a camera.
The 74-year-old actor stands just as tall today, commanding audiences with his tales of those golden days of pulp fiction on film. Warner Archive Collection has brought Ely’s best-loved roles back into the spotlight, making the classic titles available on DVD and through its new live-streaming service, Warner Archive Instant.
Premiering on NBC in 1966, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ immortal creation, Tarzan, took to the nation’s TV screens for the first time. Still in the capable hands of producer Sy Weintraub, the TV Tarzan (the aforementioned Mr. Ely) continued the more recent (and more authentic) interpretation of Lord Greystoke as a sophisticated, articulate jungle adventurer as seen in the Tarzan films of Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney and Mike Henry. Also carried over from the big screen was young actor Manuel Padilla (Tarzan and the Valley of Gold, Tarzan and the Great River), now playing the jungle lord’s kid sidekick alongside Cheetah, the simian one.
Based on the first of Kenneth Robeson’s 181 adventure packed books, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze hit the screen with all its gee-whiz, gung-ho spirit intact. And its bold protagonist, who along with having a herculean body is also a surgeon, linguist and inventor, remains determined to do right to all and wrong to no one. Ely plays the strapping Savage in this high-camp, big-heroics tale of his trek into the Valley of the Vanished to confront the power-hungry Captain Seas (Paul Wexler). And behind the camera are pros who know how to get the most out of this entertainment bronze mine: veteran fantasy film producer George Pal (The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine) and director Michael Anderson (Around the World in 80 Days, Logan’s Run).
Once reluctant to embrace his cult hero status, Ely has joined Warner Archive Collection at two major events over the past six months – at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, and WonderCon in Anaheim – to celebrate those cherished productions of 40-plus years ago.
In addition to Ely’s starring roles, Warner Archive Collection is now offering a number of classic films and television series representative of the pulp heroes of yesteryear. Included amongst those productions are the Tarzan Collections (the most recent featuring films of the 1960s: Tarzan Goes to India, Tarzan’s Three Challenges, Tarzan and The Valley of Gold, Tarzan and the Great River, Tarzan and the Jungle Boy) and Bomba The Jungle Boy, Volume One.
The Bomba release includes six of these rare films, which were released from 1949-51. Monogram pictures made an inspired choice when it opted to adapt the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift) series of books with Bomba the Jungle Boy and paired it up with Tarzan’s own now grown “Boy,” Johnny Sheffield. Under the leadership of newbie producer Walter Mirisch, the series skillfully blends stock photography, imaginative scripts and teen romance to deliver A-list fun on a B-list budget (and proving to be a smash hit for the studio). Fellow former child-star Peggy Ann Garner provides for Bomba’s jungle distraction in the inaugural installment, while other guests of note to be found in the first six films in the series include Allene Roberts, Donald Woods, Paul Guilfoyle, Sue England, Woody Strode, and Donna Martell. Silent-to-TV-era journeyman Ford Beebe directs all six.
But back to Mr. Ely, who took some time in conjunction with his appearance at WonderCon over Easter weekend to answer a few questions. Heed the words of Tarzan …
QUESTION:
What are you impressions of pulp heroes?
RON ELY:
When I was a kid, we had radio, we had Saturday morning serials, and we had comic books. It wasn’t like today – we had a limited array of things, but those things especially appealed to kids. I loved comic books, and I read a lot of them. Archie, Superman, Captain Marvel – those types.
Part and parcel of being a kid back then was to latch onto larger than life heroes. It wasn’t until we became adults that our hero image became more adult and humanized with flaws. Back then, they had no flaws – our heroes were the biggest, the baddest, and the most honorable. All those principles set in motion everything that followed suit for me.
Doc Savage was one of the most successful series of books – the character was one of the triumvirate of great action heroes, along with Tarzan and Superman. Those three really set the standard for pulp heroes. It’s interesting that Warner Archive has all three of them – they’re like a superhero factory. I can’t think of anybody that can compare.
QUESTION:
As a kid, who were your heroes?
RON ELY:
I grew up in Amarillo, Texas, so my heroes were cut from the same cloth that I saw all around me. Cowboys like John Wayne and Bob Mitchum. One of the joys of getting into this business was that I actually got to know some of my heroes. Those western, heroic characters occupied my interests in film more than any others. I loved the comic book and pulp heroes, but for me, you couldn’t beat John Wayne.
QUESTION:
What does it mean to you to be a hero?
RON ELY:
It’s sort of a funny thing being called a hero, because it’s not something I wanted to do. But it just kept coming for me. I don’t really understand why, but I appreciate it because I think it might have grown out of my sticking to the solid, basic principles I learned growing up. Those important characteristics tend to exist more in the superhero characters than other flawed adult characters. I always enjoyed playing the flawless characters because, whereas some folks find them corny, I appreciate the morals, the lessons, and all those things that superheroes are designed to be and represent.
QUESTION:
What has prompted you to come out of your shell a bit and embrace the fans and the fan conventions?
RON ELY:
I used to hate being around the fans – I avoided it like the plague. I enjoyed the anonymity. That’s why I pretty well dropped off the face of the Earth for quite a long time. But getting back out into the public again has been one of the most rewarding experiences that I can imagine. Those fans are diehard. They hang on, they don’t let go. They believe in Doc and Tarzan – they believe in them in a way that makes you want to know more about them.
It was surprising to me to find out the fans are still there, to discover the fan base is so enormous. It surprised to see younger people in that mix who weren’t around when I made Tarzan. It’s a kick for me. I enjoy seeing those people and hearing what they have to say. They embrace these characters for the right reasons. It’s not a character like in Die Hard – characters like Doc Savage, Tarzan and Superman are more pure superheroes. There’s a special group of characters, and a special group of people that remain true to those characters as fans.
The Lone Ranger is one of the most enduring creations of the Western world. A morally upstanding heroic icon of Americana, the Lone Ranger is a western character with both a code of honor and a brave heart.
One of six Texas rangers ambushed by “Butch” Cavendish and his gang, John Reid is revived by Tonto, a native American whom he had shown kindness to earlier. He and Tonto agreed to make it appear that all six men were dead and to use the element of surprise to hunt the outlaws down. Creating a make-shift mask from his dead brother’s clothes, he became known as the Lone Ranger and fought injustice wherever he found it.
The Lone Ranger has appeared in almost every form of entertainment starting in radio and continuing to video games and even the modern comic book. However, he will always be most closely associated with the radio drama that coined the catch phrase ‘hi-ho, Silver!’ along with many other notable lines of dialog. There have been attempts to bridge the character to the modern audience, but only the long-lasting TV series starring Clayton Moore has made a mark. A film released in the early 80′s was a bust for many reasons.
Most recently, news of a feature film started to crop up but talk of supernatural beings, werewolves and more made many wish they had never heard of it. Apparently those notions are as dead as the other 5 Texas rangers and a new movie directed by Gore Verbinski (of the Pirates of the Caribbean films).
Johnny Depp (Tonto) and Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger)
… uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer introduced fans to the latest incarnation of the iconic Western characters.
That’s Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer (J. Edgar, The Social Network) who have saddled up for The Lone Ranger, which will be directed by Depp’s Rango and Pirates of the Caribbean collaborator Gore Verbinski. Bruckheimer has been tweeting from the set of Disney’s anticipated Ranger reboot, promising “something big” and an image “that will show you why this isn’t going to be your grandfather’s Lone Ranger and Tonto.”
So far, it looks like Verbinski and his crew are embracing the roots of the classic law enforcer, while also cutting Depp a little slack to make Tonto a white-faced weirdo. (That is a bird resting on his head, after all.)
Months ago, the thought of a Lone Ranger promotional image seemed impossible, as Disney and Bruckheimer appeared at odds over the budget of a Ranger movie and the pictured stalled in pre-production. Eventually, though, cooler heads prevailed and the Lone Ranger was allowed to move forward as planned. Verbinski’s Western has been penned by Pirates scribes Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. It co-stars Helena Bonham-Carter, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson and Barry Pepper. As of right now, it’s due in theaters on May 31, 2013.
Like many other long standing creations from the 1930′s, the Lone Ranger is more than a comic strip or pulp character, he is a piece of Americana, one of the few remaining segments of nobility that our nation has. When I read that a new comic book series from Dynamite Comics was worth reading I was in full support, but a feature film from Disney involving Bruckheimer and Verbinkski with Johnny Depp as Tonto does not strike me as the way to do the concept honor.
I’m not a nationalist or a drum-beating patriot, I just respect the hard work and conviction that went in to crafting such a timeless character and hope that these massive corporations put the same amount of thought into their summer blockbuster.
Actor Clayton Moore remains the iconic masked man in many people’s minds… and maybe it should stay that way.
Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger, at his home in Las Angeles, CA, in 1992.
The current release date is May 31, 2013.
The Lone Ranger - The Original Series, Vol. 1
The Lone Ranger trade paperback
The Lone Ranger Chronicles Limited Hardcover Edition
(note: all information including ad copy is from the publisher)
If you can’t make it to the shop, just click on any of the images below to be taken to an online retailer. I don’t get any referrals for these sales, I’m just doing my bit to spread the word on some neat products.
Moon Knight #5
Moon Knight #5 By: Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev
The new kingpin of L.A. has brought the fight to Moon Knight’s front door and now Marc Spector is going to return the favor.Moon Knight unleashes hell on the L.A. underworld in his race to uncover the kingpin’s secret identity!!
From the Eisner award-winning team that brought you DAREDEVIL and SCARLET.
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Astro City Life In The Big City HC New Ed
Astro City Life In The Big City HC New Ed By: Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Will Blyberg, Alex Ross
The original ASTRO CITY miniseries is back in a new edition, simultaneously available in hardcover and trade paperback with new cover art by Alex Ross!
Welcome to Astro City, a shining city on a hill where super heroes patrol the skies. Each chapter in this collection is a stand-alone story highlighting different aspects or characters in the Astro City world.
The city’s leading super hero tries to be everywhere at once, and berates himself for every wasted second as he longs for just a moment of his own. A small-time hood learns a hero’s secret identity and tries to figure out how to profit from the knowledge. A beat reporter gets some advice from his editor on his first day on the job. A young woman tries to balance the demands of her family with her own hopes and desires.
Despite the fantastic settings, the characters in these slice-of-life stories feel like real people, and that gives the stories real power.
Action Comics #1 By: Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, Rick Bryant
The one and only Grant Morrison (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN) returns to Superman, joined by sensational artist Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS), to bring you tales of The Man of Steel unlike any you’ve ever read!
This extra-sized debut issue is the cornerstone of the entire DC Universe!
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Alter Ego #104
Alter Ego #104
Alter Ego proudly celebrates the 50th anniversary of Fantastic Four #1-and the birth of Marvel Comics! With a new, never-before-published interview with Stan Lee and rare art and artifacts by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Joe Sinnott, Dick Ayers, Roy Thomas, and others! Also: Jim Amash’s interview with 1940s Timely editor Al Sulman, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) with Marc Swayze and C.C. Beck, and Michael T. Gilbert in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! All behind a new cover by Ron Frenz and Joe Sinnott!
Omac #1 By: Dan Didio, Keith Giffen, Scott Koblish
The all-seeing Brother Eye satellite has unleashed a new beast upon the DC Universe in this smashing new series! Kevin Kho has become an unwilling participant in a war between Checkmate and Brother Eye as he is transformed into the One Machine Army Corp known only as O.M.A.C.!
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Doctor Who Classics TPB Vol. 07
Doctor Who Classics TPB Vol. 07
IDW’s collections of re-mastered and fully colored classic Doctor Who tales return with the Seventh Doctor!
From the far reaches of space to Victorian London, follow the seventh incarnation of the Doctor-as portrayed by Sylvester McCoy-as he faces the reptilian Ice Warriors and other fantastic threats.
This volume features the finest writers and artists Who has to offer, such as Grant Morrison, Dan Abnett, Bryan Hitch, and John Ridgway.
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Detective Comics #1
Detective Comics #1 By: Tony S. Daniel, Ryan Winn
DC’s flagship title is relaunched for the first time ever, with new Batman adventures from acclaimed writer/artist Tony S. Daniel! A killer called The Gotham Ripper is on the loose on Batman’s home turf – leading The Dark Knight on a deadly game of cat and mouse.
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Punisher #3
Punisher #3 By: Greg Rucka, Marco Checchetto, Bryan Hitch
Award winning novelist GREG RUCKA continues his violent and visionary return to Marvel.
Even 10,000 feet above New York, no one escapes the Punisher.
As Frank trails the criminal underbelly of the city, he encounters the deadly, mob created villain: THE VULTURE for a brutal battle against death and gravity.
Meanwhile as NYPD detectives get closer to understanding Frank Castle’s new relationship, one of New York’s finest is struggling keep his own Punisher association untraceable.
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New Teen Titans Games HC
New Teen Titans Games HC By: Marv Wolfman, George Perez, George Perez
Wraparound cover by GEORGE PÉREZ Twenty years in the making, TEEN TITANS: GAMES is a can’t-miss for fans new and old. Harking back to the era when NEW TEEN TITANS was the best-selling monthly comic series comes this lost tale from legendary creators Marv Wolfman (CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS) and George Perez (FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS) starring their fan-favorite characters just in time for the NEW TEEN TITANS’ 30th anniversary! Set in the 1980s during the height of the New Teen Titans popularity, this stand-alone hardcover features a mysterious villain playing a deadly game with New York City as the game board-and the Teen Titans as the pieces! Like something out of a time capsule, this never-before-seen epic is the New Teen Titans story from their original creators that has never been told…until now!
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Swamp Thing #1
Swamp Thing #1 By: Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette
One of the world’s most iconic characters has returned to the heart of the DC Universe, and every step he takes will shake the foundations of the Earth! Alec Holland has his life back…but the Green has plans for it.
A monstrous evil is rising in the desert, and it’ll take a monster of another kind to defend life as we know it!
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Walter Koenig Things To Come #1
Walter Koenig Things To Come #1 By: Walter Koenig, Juan Baez
Two hundred years after the apocalypse the human race, buried in the bowels of the earth, is a few tortured breaths from extinction.
It offers up one last gift to the poisoned surface and the mutant life forms that survive there; a new species.
Up until now the creatures of fiction, these new beings must determine the purpose of their being. Are they only the violent spawn of mankind’s evil doomed to a soulless eternity or the progenitors of a better more hopeful world?
Is it possible for them to tear the throats from their prey, drink the blood and still pray to god?
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Spider-island Avengers #1
Spider-island Avengers #1 By: Christopher Yost, Mike McKone, Leinil Francis Yu
SPIDER-ISLAND TIE IN!
All of Manhattan has been transformed into an island of Spider-Men… and it’s up to the Avengers to contain the chaos.
But when a spider-powered Ultimatum attacks the United Nations, the?Avengers are spread too thin… and must turn to the one man who can save them all: FROG-MAN.
No, for real.
We were just as surprised as you.
PLUS! Squirrel Girl takes on the most unlikely foe of all!
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Green Arrow #1
Green Arrow #1 By: J. T. Krul, Dan Jurgens, George Perez, Brett Booth, Rob Hunter
Green Arrow is on the hunt. Driven by inner demons, Ollie Queen travels the world and brings outlaws to justice…by breaking every law.
Now, armed with cutting-edge weaponry and illegally gained intel (courtesy of his team at QCore), Green Arrow is shooting first and asking questions later.
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Giant Size Little Lulu Vol. 4 TPB
Giant Size Little Lulu Vol. 4 TPB By: John Stanley, John Stanley, Irving Tripp
Named one of the top one hundred comics of all time by The Comics Journal, John Stanley’s Little Lulu is one of the most enduring gems of the Golden Age. In a testament to Stanley’s bottomless imagination, this behemoth volume sees mischievous Lulu Moppet’s world continue to expand with new situations and characters, including the first appearance of fan-favorite villain Ol’ Witch Hazel.
* Collecting three more volumes of Dark Horse’s acclaimed reprint series! Contains Marge’s Little Lulu #38-#53.
Marvel Minimates X-Men First Class Set
A Diamond Select Release! Art Asylum Designs & Sculpts!
Just in time for the release of the major motion picture, X-Men: First Class, Diamond Select turns to the classic X-Men comic with this set of Professor Xavier’s original first class of mutant students!
This Specialty Market Exclusive box set features four of the first mutant heroes in their original blue and yellow outfits, including: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, and Ice Man. Each Minimate stands 2.5″ tall with 14 points of articulation and a variety of removable and interchangeable parts and accessories.
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Potters Field TPB
Potters Field TPB By: Mark Waid, Paul Azaceta, J. G. Jones
First time in trade paperback! Outside New York City is Potter’s Field, where the unnamed dead are buried. Now, a mysterious man has taken it upon himself to name the unnamed in this cemetery!
Using a network of underground operatives who don’t know each other, he fights to save the unsaved and solve the mysteries of the unjustly slain!
Collecting the critically acclaimed three issue mini-series and the Stone Cold one-shot into one volume!
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The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir
The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir By Michael Uslan
Is any superhero cooler than Batman? He’s a crime-fighting vigilante with a tragic past, a lawless attitude, and a seemingly endless supply of high-tech gadgetry. In this fully illustrated memoir, author Michael Uslan recalls his journey from early childhood fandom through to the decades he spent on a caped crusade of his own: to bring Batman to the silver screen as the dark, serious character he was at heart. Uslan’s story traces his path from the wilds of New Jersey to the limelight of Hollywood, following his work as Executive Producer on every Batman film from Tim Burton’s 1989 re-envisioning to 2012′s The Dark Knight Rises. Through it all, he helped to create one of the most successful pop culture franchises of all time.
“Don’t miss this spellbinding tale of one man who saw what Batman was-and realized what he could become. See how Michael Uslan took a comic book hero and, through the magic of motion pictures, helped transform him into a world-wide icon!” -Stan Lee, Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Comics and Chairman of Pow! Entertainment, co-creator of Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, and The Hulk
Michael Uslan brought comic books to academia in the 1970s with class (figuratively and literally) and he brought Batman to Hollywood a decade later with the same sort of integrity. I’ve been reading or watching his work since my youth and the intellect always shined through – now with his memoir I also see the emotional backbeat of his hero’s journey. -Geoff Boucher, Los Angeles Times
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Men Of War #1
Men Of War #1 By: Ivan Brandon, Tom Derenick, viktor kalvachev
On the ground and on the front lines, a young, headstrong soldier known as Joe Rock assumes command of Easy Company – a team of ex-military men turned contractors.
Will they survive the battle-scarred landscape carved by the DCU’s Super-Villains? Find out in this explosive new series from Ivan Brandon (Viking, DOC SAVAGE) and Tom Derenick (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA)!
Spider #2 By: Martin Powell, Hannibal King, Dan Brereton
This item is currently not available, but we will special order a copy from our supplier if you choose to backorder it from us today. Delivery will be delayed by two to four weeks while the backorder is processed and shipped from our supplier to our warehouse. Your credit card will not be charged for this item until it is ready to be shipped to you. For more information, please see our backordering help page.
The Spider faces a mastermind of monstrous power, The Thunder King who wields the tempests of the heavens like a scythe, holding New York in a reign of unrelenting terror. In the flooding avenues below, Nita Van Sloan, the Spider’s beloved, alone and against the odds, risks all to save the helpless victims of the drowning city.
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Doctor Who Dalek To Victory T-Shirt
Doctor Who Dalek To Victory T-Shirt
The Ironsides will turn the tide against the Nazi menace on this t-shirt that recreates a classic 1940s propaganda poster!
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Shadow Double Novel #52
Shadow Double Novel #52 By: Maxwell Grant/Walter Gibson, Tom Lovell, Edd Cartier
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows! First, The Shadow executes a deadly chess game with The Crime Master, an underworld kingpin whose amazing superbrain rivals his own. Then, the Master of Darkness seeks to unmask The Fifth Napoleon, the master plotter who commands New York’s four most powerful crime lords. This instant collectors’ item features both classic cover paintings by George Rozen, the original interior pulp illustrations by Tom Lovell and Anthony Tollin profiles radio legend Frank Readick, the ‘Man with The Shadow’s Laugh!’
Hulk #40 By: Jeff Parker, Grabriel Hardman
THE OMEGEX SAGA CONCLUDES!
Apparently you really can’t go home again. The Red Hulk just wanted to visit his old homestead, but is now in the fight of his life against the mighty Omegex, the world destroyer!
As Red Hulk is on the ropes and it seems as though things can’t get any worse, super-villainess extraordinaire Zero/One and her henchman Black Fog arrive.
Rulk’s renowned writer Jeff Parker and all-star artist Gabriel Hardman bring a thrilling, action-packed conclusion to Red Hulk’s most dangerous dust-up yet!
AFX Exclusive Star Wars Logo Bookends (Gold Edition) by Gentle Giant
AFX Exclusive Star Wars Logo Bookends (Gold Edition) by Gentle Giant
Limited Edition of 1000
From the moment it blasted onto the silver screen in 1977, the Star Wars logo has become an iconic fixture of science fiction and fantasy to many generations. Cast in high quality polystone and then hand painted, each bookend is numbered and comes complete with a matching limited edition certificate of authenticity. Whether they’re holding up an assortment of media or on display proudly by themselves, these collectible bookends are sure to add enjoyment to any home or office.
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The Avenger: The Justice Inc. Files
The Avenger: The Justice Inc. Files
From the flames of tragedy, a hero rises! In the roaring heart of the crucible, steel is made. In the raging flame of personal tragedy, men are sometimes forged into something more than human. Life was bliss for millionaire adventurer Richard Henry Benson until the fateful day crime and greed took away his wife and daughter and turned him into something more than human. Driven by loss, compelled by grief, The Avenger is a chilled impersonal force of justice, more machine than man, dedicated to the destruction of evildoers everywhere. This collection features new prose stories of The Avenger by such luminaries as Will Murray, Robin W. Bailey, Matthew Baugh, Joe Gentile, Paul Kupperberg, Howard Hopkins, Mark Ellis, Ron Fortier, and David Michelinie.
The MAD Fold-In Collection: 1964-2010
Al Jaffee s fold-ins, on the inside back cover of virtually every issue of MAD Magazine since 1964, have become an icon of American humor. Generations have grown up with Jaffee s inspired skewerings of our foibles and cultural conundrums. Issue after issue, each Fold-in requires the reader to simply fold the page so that arrow A meets arrow B to reveal the hidden gag image, a simple idea that masks both undeniable artistic ingenuity and comic timing. In this deluxe four-volume set, each of the 410 fold-ins is reproduced at its original size, with a digital representation of the corresponding folded image on the following page (so collectors won t have to fold their book to get the jokes). Featuring insightful essays by such luminaries as Pixar s Pete Docter and humorist Jules Feiffer, The MAD Fold-In Collection is the definitive gift for the millions of fans who ve grown up with MAD for nearly 60 years.
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Animal Man #1
Animal Man #1 By: Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman, Dan Green, travel foreman
Buddy Baker has gone from ‘super’ man to family man – but is he strong enough to hold his family together when Maxine, his young daughter, starts to manifest her own dangerous powers?
Find out in this dramatic new series from writer Jeff Lemire (SWEET TOOTH) and artist Travel Foreman (The Immortal Iron Fist).
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New Avengers Annual #1
New Avengers Annual #1 By: Brian Michael Bendis, Gabriele Dell’otto
Marvel Architect Variant also available Marvel Architects Sketch Variant also available From the creative team of SECRET WAR!
Simon Williams doesn’t think the Avengers are helping the world and is willing to do whatever is needed to stop them.
Including bringing in his own NEW team…THE REVENGERS!
One of the biggest throwdowns in Avenger’s history starts HERE!
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Blue Sunshine
Blue Sunshine Directed by Jeff Lieberman (Squirm)
At a party, someone goes insane and murders three women. Falsely accused of the brutal killings, Jerry is on the run. More bizarre killings continue with alarming frequency all over town. Trying to clear his name, Jerry discovers the shocking truth…people are losing their hair and turning into violent psychopaths and the connection may be some LSD all the murderers took a decade before. (via IMDB)
Heroes For Hire #11 By: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Kyle Hotz, Jay Anacleto
FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN!
On the devastated Raft, the Purple Man unleashes Elektra as his pet killer-with only The Shroud standing in the way! Meanwhile, in the shattered streets of Manhattan, Misty Knight joins cult faves Gargoyle and Paladin to fight the macabre menace of Monster!
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Doc Savage Double Novel #50
Doc Savage Double Novel #50 By: Kenneth Robeson/Lester Dent, Paul Orban
The Pulp Era’s greatest superman journeys to the American West in classic pulp thrillers by Lester Dent. First, a bequest from a dying scientist leads Doc Savage to Death Valley in search of a long-dead pirate’s legendary treasure.
Can this amazing invention allow The Pirate’s Ghost to speak from beyond the grave? Then, the Man of Bronze goes undercover at a Wyoming dude ranch to solve the bizarre puzzle of a strange Green Eagle with lead feathers.
Plus, an intriguing article by The Shadow’s famous raconteur, Walter Gibson.
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Avengers 4pc Button Set
Avengers 4pc Button Set
The Avengers will assemble, and with Ata Boy’s Marvel Universe button sets, you can decorate your bookbag or jacket with buttons that feature artwork of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters! Each set comes with 4 buttons built around a theme – Captain America, Thor, or the Avengers as a whole. Blister card packaging.
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Godzilla Gangsters & Goliaths #4 (of 5)
Godzilla Gangsters & Goliaths #4 (of 5) By: John Layman, Alberto Ponticelli, Paul Hanley, Ponticelli
With the help of Mothra, Detective Sato thought he had the Takahashi crime syndicate on the ropes… but Takahashi isn’t going down without a fight!
Sato is once again helpless as his son is kidnapped and Mothra is no longer in his control.
Never one to give up, Sato decides to just think bigger. But what’s bigger than Mothra?
The chaos nears its conclusion!
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Building on their recent success with Lone Ranger, Dynamite Comics has expanded their list of recognized legacy characters to include Zorro. Comic book creator Matt Wagner has taken on the writing chores of the series while artist Francesco Francavella delivered some of the most beautiful art in monthly comics today. Known for his successes in the independent world for Grendel and Mage and more recently for his take on Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in Trinity, Wagner brings with him a certain kind of sophistication without losing that unique timelessness that makes a property like Zorro so attractive.
Guy Williams Zorro by Francavella
Currently in its second year, Dynamite’s Zorro has met with critical acclaim for its stripped down storytelling and cinematic action sequences. For the uninitiated, Zorro is the 19th Century creation of pulp writer Johnston McCulley in his novel, The Curse of Capistrano. A masked vigilante of another era, Zorro fights for the freedom of the oppressed against the forces of tyranny. Made popular in the 1925 silent film by Douglas Fairbank’s depiction of the swashbuckling marvel, the character has gone on to become a cult hero and an heroic icon of the superhero idiom.
Using the standard secret identity concept that is popular today, Zorro is a foppish nobleman by day but rights wrongs as the bold and daring Zorro from under the cover of a black mask, cape and brimmed cap. The subject of numerous film and TV productions with the likes of Tyrone Power, Lost in Space’s Guy Williams, Antonio Banderas and even Anthony Hopkins, the character has remarkable staying power and the kind of appeal that many producers dream about.
A popular comic strip by Alex Toth and later one by Thom Yeates garnered attention, yet in the comic book medium, the character has been less of a success save the current series.
The inspiration for taking on a character like Zorro comes in part from Matt Wagner’s appreciation for what artist John Cassady achieved with the Lone Ranger revival. “I really liked ‘Lone Ranger’ and the track John [Cassaday] took on it, so when I saw that Dynamite had ‘Zorro,’ I called them and said, ‘Hey, let me do what John did for you. Let me do the covers and be the art director on the book,’ and that’s when they came back to me and said, ‘What about writing it?’ I hadn’t really planned on it, but it was too good an offer to pass up.”
An admirer of swashbuckling adventure, it should come as no surprise that Wagner has had such success with this series. Many may not realize that he was signed on to draw and write the adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ Three Musketeers for the Classics Illustrated line.
For more of Francesco Francavella, please visit his blog, Pulp Sunday.
Last month Dynamite announced that they will also be publishing a Year One series for the character Green Hornet with Matt Wagner as writer and designer.
