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Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

Comics Revue

Did you understand that one of the longest running comics or comic collections has just published their 394th problem as well as have been publishing consistently for over 30 years? Did you understand that I have raved about this magazine numerous times throughout the years in this blog? Did you understand that next to nobody purchases this magazine as well as it makes me so unfortunate that so numerous people are missing out on this large collection of art as well as storytelling every other month? Did you understand this magazine is called Comics Revue as well as it reprints a broad range of a few of the biggest newspaper strips ever? Well, they do as well as every other month it is such a delight to read. monthly there are stories featuring such diverse characters as Buz Sawyer by Roy Crane, alley Oop by V.T. Hamlin, The Phantom by Lee Falk as well as Sy Berry, Mandrake the Magician by Lee Falk as well as Phil Davis, Casey Ruggles by Warren Tufts, Flash Gordon, Krazy Kat, Tarzan, Rick O’Shay by Stan Lynde, as well as more. There are 128 pages of home entertainment packed into each problem as well as practically every one of the stories reprinted monthly are as great or much better than any type of monthly comic you may buy. I understand no matter exactly how much I rave about this magazine most, it not all, of you will continue to disregard it, so I believed I would take a different method with this blog as well as suggest collections of the strips that appear in this magazine from other publishers so if the serialized style of Comics Revue puts you off, possibly a big chunk of these strips in one sitting may charm to you. By the way, in Comics Revue they run a mix of total stories (that rotate from problem to issue) in addition to serialize stories over several issues.

Casey Ruggles

Casey Ruggles was a newspaper strip about a us Marshall in the Wild West. It ran from 1949 to 1955 as well as was by the one of the most underrated artists of all time, Warren Tufts. traditional Comics press has one hardcover collection collecting all of the strips starting with 1949, with a second volume coming later this year. While I like Tufts’ storytelling, which is a few of the best, his artwork just makes the world of the late 1800s come alive, be it in the streets of San Francisco or the wilderness of Wyoming. You feel as if you are really there. Marshall Ruggles runs into all kind of troubles, yet he always, well, many of the time, handles to prevail. part of the reason I like this collection is the Sunday pages are reprinted in full color as well as they are spectacular showing the true depths of Tufts’ talent. A excellent checked out for fans of experience or westerns. Plus, traditional Comics press has likewise published The total Lance, which Tufts did after Casey Ruggles in a full color hardcover. Lance is thought about to be the pinnacle of newspaper strips as well as this is the very first total collection of it anywhere, as well as it is well worth the money. It is a piece of art.

The Phantom

Hermes press has been reprinting The Phantom newspaper strip for a number of years now as well as are currently as much as volume sixteen reprinting the strips from 1958-1959. now this implies they have reprinted all of the strips as well as stories from when the Phantom very first appeared in newspapers in 1936 as much as 1959. They are doing two separate series, one with the dailies which is as much as volume 16 as well as there is likewise a second series which reprints the Sundays as well as this series is as much as volume five. Throughout these volumes you get art by Ray Moore, the original artist on the strip, as well as his successor Wilson McCoy. I discover the Phantom to be a deceiving strip in that it is a easy premise that its writer as well as creator, Lee Falk, was able to keep original as well as entertaining for over the 50 years he composed the strip. The very first tale is set in the 1600s as a guy is abandoned by pirates on the coastline of Africa, as well as he vows revenge against all pirates as well as evil of any type of kind. For 14 generations the mantle of the Phantom is passed on to the next son, producing a legend of the Ghost who Walks as the masses believe he is the exact same guy from the 1600s. Along the method there is adventures that surround the globe as well as a touch of romance. plus with a 400 year history, Falk was able to tell stories set in all kind of times as well as place. While the strip is great, Hermes style as well as production are the weakest of all of the books I am talking about here. I would suggest them since they are not offered in sequence anywhere else, however this does not have the rich production that traditional Comics press does.

Mandrake the Magician

Titan books has two series of newspaper strip reprints that I believe are worth your time as well as money. The very first is a series of hardcover reprinting Lee Falk’s other traditional creation, Mandrake the Magician. Yes, Falk produced two of the most historical newspaper strips as well as he composed them both for over 50 years, a accomplishment no comic book developer can claim. Mandrake travels the world assisting people. While the Phantom is for the most part truth based, Mandrake is far from it, as well as aside from discussing hypnotism, much of his “powers” are never explained. Mandrake as well as his assistant Lothar go around the place, from alternating dimensions, to combating mystical beasts, to street crime. (I would bet money Stan Lee checked out Mandrake at some point as a great deal of Dr. unusual stories seem to be influenced by Mandrake tales). right here they have done three series. The very first series is all the early everyday strips by Falk as well as artist Phil Davis (whose work is amazing.) They likewise did a volume of the Sundays where they reprinted the revised Mandrake (which Falk did in the 1960s to make him less stuffy than the 1930s version) with artist Fred Fredericks. There is a third volume reprinting the dailies of 1960s reboot. Personally, I like the 1930s Phil Davis stories much better as well as I just like Davis’ art. Sadly, the only location you can checked out this traditional stories now is in Comics Revue as Titan has chose to focus on the revised version going ahead instead of the traditional material. No matter what time period, Mandrake is a question to checked out as you land up going to locations you would never have imagined. Plus, like with the Phantom, Falk is a master storyteller, whose pacing as well as imagination is practically unmatched.

Flash Gordon

Titan likewise has a series of hardcovers reprinting Flash Gordon. They begin at the extremely beginning with the groundbreaking work of Alex Raymond, as well as then they continue with the fifties with some remarkable work by Dan Barry. I very first found Dan Barry with his comic book work in the 1980s as well as I cannot state I was impressed. however seeing what he did in the 1950s on the Flash Gordon newspaper strips, I was blown away. As a plus, the Barry strips were written by famed science fiction author, Harry Harrison. There are seven volumes so far, covering the very first 25 years of the strip, including the Alex Raymond period, his successors, Don Moore as well as Austin Briggs, as well as then the Harrison as well as Barry material. There are both everyday as well as Sunday collections right here with the Sundays in full color. The production on these books are nice, as well as much much better than Hermes, however short of the work from traditional Comics Press.

Buz Sawyer

Finally we have Buz Sawyer which Fantagraphics did four hardcover volumes of as well as a finest of collection. Each of these volumes is over 300 pages of action as well as adventure. To me, Roy Crane may have been the biggest storyteller of the traditional experience strips. His art style bordered on the cartoony (when compared to Warren Tufts or Phil Davis or Alex Raymond) however it is ideal for this strip. Buz is a competitor pilot in world war 2 combating in the pacific when the strip starts. Over the years, Buz would travel the world, get out of the military, get back into the military, fight wars, spies, gangsters, an upset wife, as well as much more. Crane’s storytelling is like streaming water as it just flows from panel to panel, from page to page, as well as never gets old. It is so beautiful, once again in a different method than Raymond’s Flash Gordon or Tufts’ Casey Ruggles. These four volumes from Fantagraphics cover a great deal of ground of the Buz Sawyer strip, however there is so much more. In the pages of Comics Revue they are as much as the 1960s with Buz in Viet Nam as well as tons of chilly war intrigue. Crane was understood for his storytelling, his precise depictions of armed forces aircraft, as well as for drawing lovely women, whom Buz always seemed to meet. Crane’s women are beautifully drawn, however in a method that is so different than Raymond’s women (See Alex Raymond’s Rip Kirby collections for some remarkable women) even though both artists are understood for their portrayals of women. Buz Sawyer is one of my preferred strips to read, as it is so smooth. Well worth your time. (Plus these collections are edited by Comics Revue publisher Rick Norwood).

Alley Oop

I do hope that this blog influenced you to go out as well as try one of these books or possibly Comics Revue itself. You will not discover much better storytelling than in Buz Sawyer or much more lovely art than Warren Tufts. Comic strip history is so rich as well as is full of material that few people keep in mind or are even conscious of, as well as so much of it is spectacular. If you are truly want atreat, Dark equine published two volumes of V.T. Hamlin’s alley Oop Sundays in large full color hardcovers a number of years back that were just amazing. They are worth the money just to see the coloring. alley Oop was a strip that is a trip to checked out with high adventure, politics, time travel, as well as lovely art. for many years I dismissed it as a silly caveman till I started reading in the pages of Comics Revue as well as I realized what a masterpiece this truly is as well as why its fans are so dedicated to it. Of all of these books I do not believe I might pick out one as my preferred as all of them as so different from one one more yet all are works of art. any type of of these will brighten your day after reading them. It goes without stating all of these books are extremely recommended.

So that is it for this time. I welcome any type of as well as all comments as well as I can be reached at MFBWAY@AOL.COM or on Facebook at Wayne Markley. Do you checked out newspaper strips? Does anybody still checked out them in the newspaper? I would like to hear from you, even if it is Garfield you like. all of the thoughts as well as words right here are mine as well as do not show the thoughts or words of Westfield Comics or their employees. As always…

Thank you.