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Monday, June 06, 2005
DC Starts Its Own Black-and-White Reprint Line
Found the news first on Fanboy Rampage: DC will be launching its own line of "phonebook" style black-and-white reprints similar to those of Cerebus and the Marvel Essentials line. They're beginning with Silver Age Superman and Green Lantern stories, then going on to Jonah Hex (since Hex will be relaunched later this year), Metamorpho, and the Justice League of America. It's pretty exciting, the idea of having these vintage stories available for such a low price - even with my love for big, expensive hardcovers, there's no way I was going to invest in a huge run of DC's Archives at fifty dollars a pop.
For me, at least, the most enticing offering is definitely Jonah Hex - Superman may have Curt Swan and Green Lantern may have Gil Kane, but Jonah Hex is the definitive comic book western for readers my age and he's been out of the public eye for too long. There's an amorality to Jonah's character, a sense of mayhem and wanton destruction, that set it apart from other comics when I was growing up. Of all the offerings listed, this is the one that has aged the least, decades later. And if we're lucky, this - and not the latest revamp - will earn Jonah a whole new generation of fans.
For me, at least, the most enticing offering is definitely Jonah Hex - Superman may have Curt Swan and Green Lantern may have Gil Kane, but Jonah Hex is the definitive comic book western for readers my age and he's been out of the public eye for too long. There's an amorality to Jonah's character, a sense of mayhem and wanton destruction, that set it apart from other comics when I was growing up. Of all the offerings listed, this is the one that has aged the least, decades later. And if we're lucky, this - and not the latest revamp - will earn Jonah a whole new generation of fans.
