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| The
Astonishing ANT-MAN |
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Essential
Volume
One |
| Featuring
TALES to ASTONISH #27 & #''s 35-60
by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, & Bob
Powell, et al |
Paperback: 528 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 078510822X |
$14.95
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| This book is
a great collection of fun, oddball, comics. Featuring a character that
was obviously a creator favorite, given the many revamps. They just couldn't
give up on the guy! Many of these stories have been quite hard to come
by, even for hardcore fans, unlike the old FF or Spiderman or other more
popular characters who have all been reprinted more frequently. |
| Stan Lee and
Jack Kirby originally started out scripting and drawing the adventures
of Henry Pym, a scientist who developed a way to communicate telepathically
with ants and subsequently used this technology to fight crime (most likely
inspired by the film The Incredible Shrinking Man) but they soon moved
on to other things and turned it over to Stan's brother Larry Lieber and
frequent Kirby inker and western & war comic vet Dick Ayers. This was
not uncommon, since as Marvel grew they just couldn't do everything. They
also developed and handed off Thor, Iron Man, and others. Lieber and Ayers,
while certainly accomplished pros, were not possessed of the magic synergy
that Lee and Kirby had, so Ant-Man's exploits weren't quite as remarkable
as the FF's or Spidey's. Eventually, it was decided to have Pym give his
girlfriend, socialite Janet Van Dyne, shrinking powers, wings and "biological
stingers", dub her the Wasp, and become his crime fighting partner. Soon
after, he figured out how to grow ten feet tall and renamed himself Giant-Man.
Other artists and writers soon followed, most notably Bob Powell, who drew
a great Wasp, and the pair faced a mix of second string villians like the
Human Top, the Black Knight, the Eraser, and other assorted aliens and
mad scientists. In one memorable issue, Giant- Man accidentally enlarged
a spider and was blocked from reaching his helmet controls to restore it
to its normal size. Made for a tense situation for several pages...
A variety of powers, costumes,
and situations were tried out, but Giant-Man and the Wasp never really
caught on with the comic buying public. Eventually, the Powers That Be
decided to divide Tales To Astonish between GM and new stories featuring
the Hulk, and about a year later they dropped old High Pockets completely
in favor of new Sub-Mariner stories. Giant Man and the Wasp still appeared
in the Avengers, but it was clear they had lost their opportunity to shine
brightly in the Marvel firmament.
While these stories in this
collection don't always feature the absolute best of 60's Marvel by any
stretch, they are still fun reads, like those old drive-in movies weren't
always great films but were still very entertaining. Hank Pym and Janet
Van Dyne had a sort of Nick and Nora Charles type banter that was always
a highlight, and the last two-parter in this collection emphasized their
relationship in a way that was still novel to comics back then.
Wild, silly villains and
the black & white format not only keeps the price down but gives you
a great opportunity to see the quality of the cartoonists line work, apart
from the primitive coloring of the time.
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Dimensions (in inches): 0.98 x 9.64 x 7.02
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| The
Mighty AVENGERS |
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The
Avengers-Defenders War |
| by Steve Englehart, Bob Brown, & Sal
Buscema, et al |
Paperback: 176 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785108440 |
$14.95
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| The Definitive
Marvel Cross-Over!
This trade covers the whole
of Avengers #116-118 and Defenders #9-11, as well as the parts of Avengers
#115 and Defenders #8 that acted as prologue to the later issues. The trade
is 128 pages in length, with a stunning cover by fantastic contemporary
comic artist Carlos Pacheco. |
| This is the
classic Avengers/Defenders War that defined the cross-over! Steve Englehart,
writer, along with Bob Brown and Sal Buscema as artists created a masterpiece.
It's about Loki, the Avengers first adversary, and how he teams up with
Dr. Strange's nemesis, Dormammu to destroy Earth's Mightiest Heroes! It's
an all out slug festival to the finish with Marvel's finest talent. Bob
Brown was one of comicdom's most under-rated artists, also doing the art
chores on Daredevil, Batman, and (the original) Superboy. Sal Buscema was
a workhorse and provided a lot of classic material that still stands up
today, the Defenders being one of his finest moments. Writer Steve Englehart
wrote both the Avengers and Defenders, plus Captain America. He also
wrote the definitive Batman long before a man named Miller had even gotten
to Daredevil.
Dimensions (in inches): 0.24 x 9.96 x 6.64
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| BLACK
PANTHER |
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The
Client
The Marvel Knights Collection |
| by Christopher Priest & Mark Texeira |
Paperback: 128 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785107894 |
$14.95
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| T'Challa, chieftain
of Africa's Wakanda nation, is known to most of the Marvel Universe as
the Black Panther and sometime Avenger. Being the Panther is more than
just being a super hero, it also represents something sacred to the Wakandan
people. The demands on T'Challa are great but despite his best efforts,
Wakanda and its mineral wealth are dragged more and more into the public
spotlight. |
| When T'Challa
comes to America, government agent Everett K. Ross is assigned as an escort.
He figured it would be easy work and just tailed along with the King's
entourage. However, when the bullets start flying and the super-villains
come calling, and political intrigue is discovered back home, Ross is in
for the adventure of a lifetime. The Client, Ross's description of the
Panther, befriends the befuddled agent but that may not be such a good
thing.
From Marvel Comics:
Writer Christopher Priest,
known for his work on Acclaim's Quantum & Woody and DC Comics' Justice
League Task Force, brings a fresh voice to the Marvel Universe and takes
readers on a thrill ride of unparalleled proportion.
Collecting the first story
arc from the critically acclaimed Marvel Knights relaunch!
Government agent Everett
K. Ross thought he had it easy. I mean, how difficult could it be to guard
an African king? Pretty darn difficult -- if that king is T'Challa, a.k.a.
the Black Panther! And it doesn't get any easier when the demon called
Mephisto knocks on the door! Reprinting Black Panther #1 to #5.
Writer Christopher Priest
and artist Mark Texeira unite for a story that reads as good as it looks!
128-page trade paperback. |
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| BLACK
PANTHER |
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Enemy
of the State
The Marvel Knights Collection |
by Christopher Priest, Joe Jusko, Mike
Manley,
& M. D. Bright |
Paperback: 160 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785108297 |
$16.95
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| Black Panther:
Enemy of the State continues the story that began in the Black Panther:
The Client TPB and collects issue #6-12 of the monthly series by Marvel
Comics. |
| The Panther
(a.k.a., T'Challa, king of the African nation of Wakanda) has discovered
that while he was away from his homeland, he has become the victim of a
coup. The madman, Achebe, has taken over, apparently with the help of the
Panther's own stepmother. In the meantime, T'Challa must deal with assassination
attempts, dirty CIA deals and the interference of his former teammates,
the superpowered Avengers.
Christopher Priest's Black
Panther is always one step ahead of his enemies. He's acutely aware of
his opponents' motives and always seems to be prepared for any contingency.
With the continuing (and often hilarious) narration of State Department
liaison and Panther-friend, Everett Ross, we're taken on a wild ride as
the Panther faces down his enemies one by one and battles to reclaim his
lost throne.
The first few chapters are
beautifully painted by the famed Joe Jusko and the last amicably illustrated
by animation wiz Mike Manley and long-time comics veteran, M.D. Bright.
Black Panther: Enemy of the
State is comics with brains, not just brawn.
Dimensions (in inches): 0.34 x 9.64 x 6.98
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| BLACK
WIDOW |
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The
Marvel Knights Collection |
by Devin K. Grayson, Greg Rucka, J. G.
Jones,
& Scott Hampton |
Paperback: 144 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785107843 |
$15.95
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| Natasha Romanov,
a.k.a. the Black Widow, has always led an exciting life. First as a Soviet
spy, fighting on the Cold War front-line, followed by her defection to
the West and eventual work in the Avengers. She has earned a reputation
over the years as a consummate professional, coldly efficient and as deadly
as her namesake. |
| Now, her time
as Black Widow has come to into doubt. Yelena Belova, the new Russian Black
Widow, seeks to reclaim the mantle she feels was stolen from her Motherland.
Trained in the arts of espionage and combat and anxious to prove herself
and eliminate her namesake, Belova will stop at nothing to achieve her
goal. The two will battle on an international stage, from the deserts of
the Middle East to the New York`s Upper West Side. When the smoke clears,
will either woman be left standing?
This title embodies all the
tension and action of traditional espionage novels. From the steps of the
Kremlin to the lowest levels of the Pentagon, this is a story of blurred
identity in a confused, post-Cold War arena.
Dimensions (in inches): 0.30 x 10.06 x 6.68
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| BLADE |
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Blade
II |
by Steve Gerber & Alberto Ponticelli
With classic Blade stories from The TOMB of DRACULA by
Marv
Wolfman,Gene Colan, & Tom Palmer |
Paperback: 176 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785108971 |
$19.95
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| The adaptation
by Steve Gerber & Alberto Ponticelli is supplemented by nine stories
reprinting the original Blade from the TOMB OF DRACULA by Marv Wolfman,
Gene Colan, & Tom Palmer. |
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Dimensions (in inches): 0.38 x 9.68 x 7.00
(March 2002)
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| BLAZE
OF GLORY |
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The
Last Ride
of
the Western Heroes |
| by John Ostrander & Leonardo Manco |
Paperback: 96 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785109064 |
$11.50
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| Ragnarok
Comes for Marvel's Western Heroes
Back in the days before comic
shops, when everyone could read comics, Marvel published a variety of comics
suited to the tastes of the general public. Westerns among them.
In this grim graphic novel, the Marvel Western heroes of the 1960's and
early 70's come to a fitting end. |
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