Scott and Dan pick the comics they’re most looking forward to…
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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension
Hey, how about that fancy new banner by our man Walt Grogan! What an ace he is!
Now, on to the picks:
Swamp Thing 1989 #1, DC. Not billed as such, but this is basically DC’s latest “Fauxsimile Edition” — printing Rick Veitch’s long-unpublished story originally scheduled for 1989’s Swamp Thing #88. (DC was antsy about a story where Swamp Thing meets Jesus, and halted it. Veitch quit in protest.) This issue, which includes period ads and whatnot, is the first in a four-issue miniseries that brings Veitch’s aborted run to its proper conclusion.
Includes this evocative variant cover by the late Michael Zulli, the story’s original artist, completed before he died in 2024:
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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #3 Facsimile Edition, DC. One of the two or three best Joker stories ever. A fitting ending for his kind.
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The Marvel Creator Collection No. 1: “Back To The Savage Land” — Barry Windsor-Smith at Marvel Vol. 1, Fantagraphics. Boy that’s some title. Launches Fantagraphics’ latest series of high-end Marvel collections. The next one is on Steranko.
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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension
DC Finest: The Joker — The Last Ha Ha, DC. Classic Bronze Age Joker tales, including his 1970s solo series. Scripts from Denny O’Neil, David V. Reed, Elliott S! Maggin and more!
Dan adds: It’s worth noting that this includes 1976’s hilariously weird The Joker #10, which didn’t see the light of day for more than 40 years, until it was finally printed in The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus. While I would love to see this as a “Fauxsimile Edition,” getting in a DC Finest volume is an improvement since omnibi are so unwieldy.
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The Rocketeer: Thrills, Spills, and Chills, IDW. Along with Dave Stevens’ original classic, this collection features Rocketeer tales from a Murderer’s Row of talents, including Darwyn Cooke, Bruce Timm, Kurt Busiek, John Byrne, Dave Gibbons, Walt Simonson and more.
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Nerd Inferno: The Essential Evan Dorkin, Dark Horse. The Eltingville Club, Milk and Cheese and so much more from Evan Dorkin’s darkly hilarious body of work, all in a big fat paperback.
