What Comic Books Have You Read Today?

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Report what comic books you have read today--and tell us a little something about it while you're here!

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Thanks for posting about these! I don't have them... and they strike me as an excellent thing to ask for for my birthday or Christmas. I almost never get comic-book stuff as gifts, since it's hard for people to know what I don't already have. But I can tell Kathy about these, and she'll be set for three years!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

The Essential Batman Encyclopedia by Robert Greenbeerger (2008)...

The Essential Superman Encyclopedia by Robert Green Berger and Martin Pasko (2010)...

...and The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia by Phil Jimenez and John Wells (2010)...

...are more up to date. They build upon the Fleisher volumes, but go decades beyond.

FYI

 

[ClarkKent_DC]

I can't recommend these, at least not as serious reference material. The Superman one is filled with errors, and I have to assume the other two are as well. I discovered this when I was writing for CBR and was doing a story on Superboy's first meeting with Zod. (The whole saga is here: "When did Superboy first meet General Zod?"). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia cites the comic in which Zod first appeared (Adventure Comics #283, April 1961) but its description of the story is, simply, not the story in that issue. I had to wonder how many more entries were wrong.

Also, the intro references Michael L. Fleischer's superior work but cites comics Fleischer couldn't have included as they were published after his work was done.

Fleischer's works aren't all-comprehensive. He covers the 1930s to the 1970s and dips a toe into the early 1980s when needed. As source material, he mostly sticks to the main Superman titles (Action Comics, Superman, World's Finest, Adventure Comics) and Batman titles (Detective Comics, Barman, World's Finest, The Brave and the Bold) and doesn't deal much with outliers (Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen) and doesn't include their appearances in the likes of Justice League of America or other team or team-up titles.

Fleischer also, probably to save space, came up with his own shorthand for comic book titles, which works.

Admittedly, the Essential Encyclopedias covers a longer span, from the 1930s into the early 2000s and attempts to concisely describe all the things that occurred as a result of the Infinite Final Identity Crisis Flashpoint at Zero Hour in the Brightest Day after The Darkest Night. Presumably, to save space, they cite comics titles but not the titles of the stories within(!), which is a dumb move and not helpful to the reader. They have more and nicer illustrations, most in greyscale, a few in color. So for that, they are nice to look at. Just don't read them.

[Captain Comics]

CLarkKent_DC is right! I have used the Fleischer books as reference often, but I don't trust the others.

[ClarkKent_DC]

As Dave Elyea said over in the "When did Superboy first meet General Zod?" thread:

Dave Elyea said:

As for Pasko & Greenberger's book, I noticed several errors, and at least a couple instances of stories being described as almost exactly the opposite of what they actually were (at least one of Superboy's assorted one-shot guest heroes was described as having visited him on Earth, when in fact, Kal-El had traveled to that hero's planet in the actual story).  Part of the problem is that Fleischer's books used the conceit that all of the published adventures of Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman had all happened to those individuals, as opposed to various dimensional counterparts of same, so while he told us which Two-Face stories involved Harvey Kent, and which Harvey Dent, he declared the latter name a "chronicler's error", as opposed to a dimensional divergence.  The more recent set of DC Encyclopedias opted to sort various incarnations and eras of the characters to an assortment of different Earths, and tried to impose an official continuity on things instead of simply reporting on the stories as they were published.  As a result, it's a less than ideal reference material for anyone who can't actually crosscheck the actual issues cited.

Well stated.

[Captain Comics]

I'm pretty sure I had the original Superman volume, but have no idea if I still do. I got the reissue (and Batman and Wonder Woman) and have all three on the shelf behind my chair for easy reference. It's fantastic for looking up stuff from before whatever year they were written, which included all the '30s, '40s and '50s Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman stuff I'd never read (a situation which is changing with the omnibuses).  

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

So do the original volumes include material that was cut from the reissues? Or did the new volumes add things without taking the original material away?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I really can't say. I meant that the new ones "build upon the Fleisher volumes" thematically; I don't know if any of the Fleisher material is actually carried over. Basically, If you are interested in a deep dive into the Golden, Silver and early Bronze Ages, then the Fleisher volumes are the ones for you; if, OTOH, you're interested in something more comprehensive, then get the new ones. I can wholeheartedly recommend the new ones, but I've had the Fleishers for only a couple of days now and haven't really delved into them.

EDITED to remove the word "wholeheartedly."

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

OK, that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up!

[The Baron]

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