Thin Comic Book week

I'm trying to get into the habit of a comic book review each week. Wouldn't just be my luck that the second week in on this routine that I come up against a "thin week" basically a week where there wasn't much tickling my fancy or worth spending my dough on when I had plenty to read at home.

But then it hit me, what a great time to bring up all things I have to read here at home, specifically trade paperback comic series collections. All of the major publishers are finding a great deal of revenue in redistributing their comic series story arcs as tradepaper backs. Really its a win-win proposition. For the readers we get the whole story collected at a reduced cost compared to buying the series month to month. For the publishers the tradepaper backs are an easier sell to the major bookstore chains and online book sellers giving wider exposure for their products.

Two stand-outs that I'll discuss a bit today are vastly different from one another but very much equal in their quality and respect for the artists who came before them in their handling of the characters.

First among the trade paperbacks are the collections of the first issues in Dark Horse Comics Conan the Barbarian series. I will be the first to admit, I was never a big Conan fan. I never bashed the character, I respected Robert Howard's place as a pulp writer and Conan's stature as pop cult hero, but the character was never my thing. That has totally changed with the Dark Horse series, I haven't missed an issue since number one. Kurt Busiek has taken a great deal of care in retelling the original Robert Howard stories. Busiek's Conan more then just a muscle man with a sword, he's crafty and a quick learner as well as a warrior. The way Busiek has organized the stories we really see the character of Conan develop as he's exposed to more and more of the world including "civilization" in the larger cities of his world.

Cary Nord's line work married with the lush, painted coloring style of Dave Stewart really makes each of the stories a new classic. Busiek and Nord are both winners of last years Eisner Awards and anyone regardless of their knowledge of comic books will recognize the quality and attention they have given this character. They've really breathed life into this property. I can't recommend these trade paperbacks enough. Currently there are two volumes collecting the issues up to #14. Even if you aren't a Conan fan, they are worth a peek.

Dark Horse has always had a tradition of bringing new life to sleeping properties, The Terminator, Aliens and Predator all can give a nod to Dark Horse for reviving a level of interest in these properties. Dark Horse has also done a great job currently with their Star Wars license both in movie adaptions and original storylines.

My second recommendation for a collection of stories about another classic comic character, Scrooge McDuck. Okay take a moment, I know your head is spinning with that sharp turn to a totally different genre of comic books. The specific TPB that I'm referring to is The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck written & drawn by Don Rosa. This a collection of storylines from the early 1990's detailing the rise of Scrooge McDuck as he gained his fortune. Don Rosa's love for the character really comes through. He also does his homework fleshing out bits of hints from Scrooge's past that were touched upon by his creator the late Carl Barks. Don Rosa is a worthy successor to Barks. He provides a great level of detail to his artwork and offers a good amount of humor found both in the dialogue and in the sight gags he's drawn in.

Scrooge's rise also coincides with the maturing of America as a nation, something that is fun to read especially when done well. Rosa pays close attention to dress styles of the different periods, even those these fashions are being worn by ducks and dogs. I'm actually still in the middle of reading this book and so far I'm loving it. It's been years since I've read any Disney comics and now I'm already tempted to buy some more. If you are someone who enjoyed the old "Duck Tales" cartoon then these Scrooge books are worth your attention. Those adventures and storylines used in that cartoon found a great deal of their inspiration from these comics.

I have a soft spot for Disney comic books. I'm actually a bigger fan of many of the comic book stories then I am of the animated features. When I was a kid, the grand adventures of Uncle Scrooge, along with Donald, Huey, Dewey, & Louie were always fun reads. When I lived in Germany the German language paperback collections of the Disney comics were easy to find and pretty cheap to own. Reading those books helped me a great deal in learning the language.

Again I have to commend the publisher, in this case Gemstone who are based somewhat locally to me in Timonium, MD. They've done an excellent service in bringing these Disney stories both new and old together with high quality materials and printing processes. They've also continued to bring on talented artists who don't dumb down their artwork even though these are "kiddie comics".

There are so many more quality books out there and I'll fill you in on them as time goes on. If there are any specific characters or publishers you'd like me to cover please let me know. Or if there are any titles you think I should check out, I'm always open to recommendations.