Showcase Presents 2013-2014 update

[Hoy Murphy]

It's been a while since I've listed future Showcase Presentses from Amazon and other sources, and there have been a lot of changes, mostly delays, since the last one I posted in December 2012. Here's the latest I can find as of this date, 5/6/13:

Showcase Presents Superman Family Vol. 4

Available May 14, 2013

520 pages

In these oddball stories from the start of the 1960s, Jimmy Olsen meets Tom Baker, Power Lad, an army of miniature Supermen, and Jimmy becomes "The Fat Boy of Metropolis," "Super Jimmy," "The Giant Turtle Man of Metropolis," and a wolfman. Lois Lane, meanwhile, marries Astounding Man, imagines married life with Superman, complete with super-twins, gains super powers and battles a super-powered Lana Lang.

Showcase Presents DC Comics Presents - Superman Team-Ups Vol. 2

Available July 23, 2013

568 pages

Superman battles for justice alongside DC's greatest heroes including Martian Manhunterm Supergirl, The Spectre, Black Canary, Robin, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and many more in this massive, value-priced title.

Showcase Present Unknown Soldier Vol. 2

Publish Date July 2013

592 pages

Assuming a wide variety of disguises to battle the Nazis in World War II, the Unknown Soldier plunges deep behind enemy lines in this massive SHOWCASE edition, collecting stories that have not been reprinted since they were first published in the 1970s.

Showcase Presents House of Secrets Vol. 3

Publish Date September 2013

528 pages

This massive, value-priced collection reprints strange tales of mystery from the 1970s for the first time.

Showcase Presents: Strange Adventures Vol. 2

Available Dec. 24, 2013

520 pages

A massive new collection of science fiction tales from the 1950s, none of which have ever been collected before.

Showcase Presents Men of War

Available Jan. 28, 2014

496 pages

These tales of war originally published in the late 1970s star Enemy Ace, DC's German fighter pilot from World War I, and a new war hero: Codename Gravedigger, an African American soldier who goes undercover behind enemy lines. Collects MEN OF WAR #1-26, the entire series.

Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 2

Available Feb. 25, 2014

544 pages

The 1970s adventures of Western bounty hunter Jonah Hex continue in this new, value-priced Showcase edition collecting Jonah Hex #1-22 and Weird Western Tales #34-38.

Showcase Presents the Great Disaster featuring The Atomic Knights

Release Date Feb. 25, 2014

576 pages

In these stories, a variety of heroes including the Atomic Knights, Kamandi, Hercules and many others must face a post-apocalyptic future brought about by the mysterious "Great Disaster."
Collects stories from STRANGE ADVENTURES #117, 120, 123, 126, 129, 132, 135, 138, 141, 144, 147, 150, 153, 156 and 160, 1st ISSUE SPECIAL #1, HERCULES UNBOUND #1-10, KAMANDI #43-46, WEIRD WAR TALES #22, 23, 30, 32, 40, 42-44, 46-49, 51-53, 64, 68, 69 and 123, HOUSE OF MYSTERY #318, SUPERMAN #295, HOUSE OF SECRETS #86, 95 and 97, THE UNEXPECTED #215 and 221, and AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS #12.

The schedule looks heavy on genre and light on the super-heroes, and there are some barren months. I doubt that any but the first couple come out according to this schedule.

Hoy

[JHK]

Whoa! You're right about GL; I forgot about him. How could they depict the green beams and vulnerability to yellow? Aside: GL writers Broome and Fox had an annoying tendency to describe the panel action in the narrative, so even if you didn't see any yellow, they'd make sure you knew it was there. Redundant and boring. Stan Lee taught me to read the narrative captions because they had so much personality.

Awkwardman said:

 JHK said:

                The only stories that need color are Metal Men and kryptonite plots.

 

I think I would've liked the "Showcase Presents: Green Lantern" series a lot more had I read them in "Chronicles" full color. I really had to exercise a lot of imagination, which I have in short supply after years of watching television.

And I think you're right about about the kryptonite plots--so many are waiting to be reprinted in the prospective "Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 5" that I have to wonder if that's a large factor in DC's decision not to publish it (yet).

 

[Craig Boldman]

In my writing for Archie, I learned early on that if there was something essential color-wise going on in the story, to have one of the characters mention the color in their dialogue; made it much more likely that the colorist would get the message. Too often color notes in the script would get lost along the assembly line.

[Runt Hipper...Time Waster]

Actually, I think that DC would probably publish anything they find lying around containing Supes's picture if the release of Man of Steel creates enough demand for it, even when the lack of color makes for confusing reading--this is the same company that, in SP: Superman #4, treated us to that classic old tale "The Amazing Story of Superman-White and Superman-White".
 
Mr. Silver Age said:

 

Wait. You're saying that DC is not publishing SP: Superman #5 because so many of the stories involve kryptonite, and they think it won't show off those stories to their best advantage if they're printed in b&w. So they're holding off printing the next SP while they look for a way to present those stories in a color edition?

I think that may be the nicest thing anyone has said about DC in at least 10 years!

-- MSA

 

[Doctor Hmmm?]

I don't care who you are, that there's funny!
 
Awkwardman said:

Actually, I think that DC would probably publish anything they find lying around containing Supes's picture if the release of Man of Steel creates enough demand for it, even when the lack of color makes for confusing reading--this is the same company that, in SP: Superman #4, treated us to that classic old tale "The Amazing Story of Superman-White and Superman-White".
 

[Captain Comics]

Thanks for the plug on my review, Figs! Now that school's over (woo-hoo!) I'm going to catch up on my to-review pile and then try to get on a regular schedule for the weekly stuff that's sent to me, either in print or digital form. All in the Reviews section folks! For free and everything!

As to the point of this thread, I'll be getting anything that reprints stuff from before, say, 1980. I have just about everything from the early 1960s onward, but I get the Silver Age stuff because I always wanted that stuff in collected form and because I fear handling my own books any more than necessary. And I get the 1940s and 1950s collections, no matter how awful, because they're old comics I've never read before, and that's good enough for me.

So that means I'll be picking up everything except DC Comics Presents and Men of War.

[Mr. Silver Age]

this is the same company that, in SP: Superman #4, treated us to that classic old tale "The Amazing Story of Superman-White and Superman-White".

LOL! That story probably was a little confusing in b&w. Not that it really mattered which one was doing what. 

As you note, with Man of Steel imminent, it's amazing that DC hasn't put a new SP: Superman out on the shelves, especially as those stories are really good. Even if sales on #4 were low, and I don't know why they would've been, I'd think they'd consider the new movie might bring in more people if a new book was being promoted. It's a puzzlement.

I'll be getting anything that reprints stuff from before, say, 1980.

I considered that, but the sheer volume of stuff--and the low, low prices my SA comics would bring in if I ever tried to sell them--has kept me from buying ones that I have the comics in. But it would make one heckuva bookcase! Where do you keep all those books?

-- MSA

[Captain Comics]

I keep it all in the Comics Cave. Which, perversely, is over my house rather than under it.

Speaking of the classic tale of "Superman-White, Superman-White," there have been a number of times -- and I think we've discussed it here before -- where words were printed in a solid color with no black in the original comics, making them invisible in the B&W reprints. I remember one such cover, probably in a World's Finest Showcase, where S, B &R are staring at a blank sign in amazement, stammering things like, "What does it MEAN?!??"

Of course, I also remember a 1950s World's Finest story, where Batman had Superman's powers, and when Batman catches Superman in flight, he thinks "Isn't this queer!"

Yes, Batman, it was.

[Andrew Horn]

I was doing a bit of research on Amazon and found this...

...release date Aug 27, 2013

http://www.amazon.com/The-Captain-Comet-Archives-Vol/dp/1401241085/...

I didn't see that one coming, though god knows we've been talking it up over the years. I'm very tempted, though I fear it might be for academic purposes only. Personally I was hoping for a TBP.

What's rather odd is that it lists as being 400 pages - already very unusual for an archive book. Since GCD lists only 40 original appearances ranging from 6 to 10 pages, I can only assume that they are reprinting some much later stuff, no?

Andy

[Luke Blanchard]

DneColt posted its intended contents here.

[Andrew Horn]

Thanks Luke, I guess I missed it there. But the good news is that Amazon is now offering it for 53 bucks, not 75.

Andy

[Mr. Silver Age]

I'd like to see them do more SP volumes without an earlier Archive, and they've done a bunch lately. I'm not sure how they decide how to do each. Maybe the combination of a fairly well-known name and the earlier material that needs more production made them go this way.

It's too bad, as it might not sell well enough for another volume, which means they may not get enough to do an SP down the road. The Suicide Squad was put out in a smaller, color paperback, and only one was done. I would bet it would've done much better as an SP volume, as was originally planned. OTOH, they did two SSOV hardcovers and never produced an SP.

But the good news is that Amazon is now offering it for 53 bucks, not 75.

But the bad news is it was $45 back when we initially found it, and I think that price would've been locked in if we'd ordered it then. OTOH, these often wind up at half-price at cons within a year after publication. That's how I bought the SS TPB last month. (I also got SP: Rip Hunter for $8, yay).

-- MSA

[Runt Hipper...Time Waster]

The "Showcase Presents: Superman Family #4" cover leaped to mind yesterday, after the occurrence on I-5 north of Seattle--yeah, I've gotta get out more.

And thank God for a disaster where no one got killed.