Just when you thought they had run out of obscure things to reprint:
BRAIN BOY ARCHIVES HC
Herb Castle (W), Gil Kane (A), and Frank Springer (A)
On sale Dec 14
FC, 216 pages
$49.99
HC, 7" x 10"
A freak accident with an electrical tower affected Matt Price’s brain while he was still in the womb. Ever since, he’s had mysterious powers—telepathy, levitation, and mind control. Naturally, the government recruited him straight out of high school, and now he battles mad dictators and thawed-out dinosaurs as Brain Boy!
• Introduction by Batton Lash.
Okay, so why CAN'T we get those Bob Hope and Martin and Lewis archives? Too bad they weren't originally printed by Gold Key or Marvel.
Hoy
Replies
Thanks for finding that, Hoy!
To answer your question, Brain Boy isn't licensed and he's a super-hero (of sorts), so that's two balls (as opposed to three strikes, which Bob and Jerry have in being licensed, humor comics and celebrities with little cachet left).
In addition, it's actually a very good series (one of Maggie Thompson's favorites) and has Gil Kane art. Looks like four balls. Take your base!
I actually wrote a column about Brain Boy some years ago, as one of the few times I've delved into the wilds of Dell titles. I'll have to see if I can dig it up and show you the wonder that is Brain Boy. The series was only five issues, sadly, so that book has the entire series, too.
-- MSA
I'm convinced they'll be reprinting rediscovered stuff from before I was born well after I'm dead. I like that cover.
Why isn't he called Brain MAN? He's obviously an adult.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx
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I didn't realize that series lasted long enough to warrant a full-bore hardcover reprinting, but not to contradict Mr. Age, the Overstreet Guide says the Brainster lasted six issues. And apparently, that 216-page count will include all of the one-page fillers that Dell used to run on their inside front and back covers, plus that copy-free back cover repeats of the front cover.
Gil Kane, of course, only did the first issue (numbered in the FOUR COLOR sequence), so buyer beware, unless you're a major Frank Springer fan.
The Government waited til he finished High School?
Much more civilised back then...
Is he meant to look like a young Robert Vaughn on the cover there?
They didn't say he graduated high school, only that the government recruited him out of high school. Plus with his mental powers, he could have graduated when he was only 15-16 years old.
I've heard of Brain Boy though never read any of his adventures yet I think of giant chickens for some odd reason! My brain must be getting old! :-O
Both right. Sort of. Five issues of Brain Boy Comics, issues 2-6, following his debut appearance as a one-off, which GCD identifies as Four Color #1330. Four Color being a general rubric under which Dell published, well...just about anything - from Dick Tracy, Andy Panda, Gene Autry and Charlie McCarthy(!) to Yogi Bear, Dr. Kildare to the tv adaptation of Evan Hunter's 87th Precinct, etc, etc, etc.! I guess it was a way to get around the postal restrictions about starting new series by just publishing EVERYTHING as part of the same series. Mostly license properties ie comic strips, movie personalities or radio and tv shows, but some original stuff, such as BB, the above mentioned Freedom Agent or some kind of American Indian book called The Chief. Many one-offs but also lots continuing (or re-occurring?) titles. Check it out, it's quite an impressive spread!
Maybe this is old news, but not being in any way a Dell reader, I had no idea their comics were set up this way.
Andy
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