Books With Pictures - and Some Without

Doug: Hello, and thanks for coming  around this week. It's good to be back in the blogger's chair, even if only for a few days. When last we met, it was over at Back in the Bronze Age when I contributed a post on DC's imaginary stories. That was over a year ago! And other than school work, I've really not written since May 2017. But I've done a heckuva lot of reading, and today I'd like to share some thoughts on the tomes I've consumed over the past 12 or so months.

A year ago I decided to start keeping track of the books I was reading. Since we quit blogging in November 2016, it really freed up time in the evenings for some leisurely reading. And as I got to forming that habit, I found that I'd missed regular reading - and particularly reading comics. Formerly, the comics I read were always blog-oriented. That's not a bad thing - I think our repository of reviews is a real treasure. But we're talking about me consuming 1-2 comics in a week over the 7+ years the BAB was active. However, that commitment had necessitated (at least, that's the story I'm telling) the acquisition of a massive amount of collected editions. At last count I have over 350 books on my shelves. For most of those books, they sat idle since arriving, waiting for a post idea or review to liberate them from their resting place. Once the blog shuttered, I felt able to crack open all of the books I'd amassed. If an evening goes the way I'd like, I'm on the couch or in the recliner with a tpb or hardcover, keeping an eye on some college sports or the Cubs. On a good night, I'll read 2-3 comics. I'd also add that the fact that our sons have been out of the house over the past few years has contributed to my disposable evening time. So you see how it's possible to rip through the amount of material I've read (see below).

Karen long ago said that we live in the golden age of reprints. She's not wrong. Just two weeks ago I finished the Batgirl Bronze Age Omnibus, collecting the character's early appearances in Detective Comics and Batman, up through the Batman Family years. Think about that... A 500-page hardcover devoted to mostly 8-10 page back-up stories, and featuring a C-list character. Karen was right!

You can count the Planet of the Apes B&W magazine strips among material I never expected to read. Thank goodness Boom Studios did what it took to put that mysterious content in my hot little hands. And if you've not seen these archive-like editions, you are missing out. The reproduction is outstanding - heavy stock, the same size as originally published, and wrapped by a sturdy hardcover. I have the first two volumes and intend to buy the next two. And speaking of those "damned, dirty apes", if you're into prose then you might like Tales from the Forbidden Zone. Karen and I both read it, and I can guarantee if we'd still been writing, you'd have seen our thoughts on it. Not every short story was a winner, but more often than not there was a smile and some thoughtful reflection before moving on to the next chapter. One story I'd mention specifically involved Taylor and Nova in a "What if Taylor had survived the nuke at the end of Beneath the Planet of the Apes?" Good stuff.

For our readers who've been with us for a few years, you'll recall that I have done contract work for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's education department. After spending 10 days each July in Washington, DC over the past seven summers, I am somewhat melancholy to report that I am not going back this year. However, my interest in the subject remains high, and you can see across my three reading logs that I've continued with my professional development by reading various selections in Holocaust witness and history. Two books I'd highlight to those interested: if you would be inclined to read a rather raw survivor testimony, told within months of liberation, then Five Chimneys is excellent. Certainly, it's a tough read, but very compelling throughout. If you want a concise history of some of the nuances of the event and era, then I heartily recommend Peter Hayes's very accessible Why? Explaining the Holocaust.

I didn't always care for the books I chose. Last summer I decided to give one of Edgar Rice Burroughs' last Tarzan novels a whirl. Tarzan and the Foreign Legion could best be avoided. In addition to Burroughs' formulaic storytelling, the racism that was so prevalent through the World War II era is off putting. I finished it, but can't say I bettered myself for the experience. Richard Wright's Come Together: Lennon & McCartney in the Seventies was OK, but the author's style was a little wonky; often he was repetitive. If he'd said one more time how much the four Beatles loved each other like brothers, I was going to scream. For funnybooks, I really liked the Essential Man-Thing once Gerber quit toying with the Nexus of Reality. I didn't care for that supernatural/occult stuff... which makes me wax hypocritical, as I absolutely loved the DC Comics Classics Library Roots of the Swamp Thing. I also found volume 2 of the Secret Society of Super-Villains disappointing as compared to my childhood memories. But overall, when you look at the almost-70 books on the lists, there were mostly hits among a few misses.

Shoot, why not toss you a good, better, best type of list?

Good: I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the Aquaman trade "Death of a Prince". Outside of Super Friends, I had zero experience with DC's King of Atlantis. So I was interested at my growing enthusiasm as I waded through these Bronze Age reprints from Arthur Curry's days as a back-up feature in Adventure Comics. Solid art from Mike Grell and Jim Aparo, and a nicely done payoff at the end. Recommended.

Better: Beatles '66 by Steve Turner was wonderful. Turner begins his book in December of 1965, and then charts the careers and lives of the Fab Four month-by-month through December 1966. It's tough to say that the book "centers" on any one thing, as the last world tour, the decision to stop touring, increased drug use, the recording of Revolver, and the appearance of Yoko Ono all conspired to make the year of my birth a landmark era for the Beatles. Great book, and I'd read it again.

Best: I gave no thought to this whatsoever beyond my initial impression. It wasn't even close, or worthy of further consideration. The best thing I've read in the past 12-15 months was the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus, volume 1. The 800+ page heavyweight collects Giant-Size X-Men #1, and X-Men #s 94-131. Also included is the George Perez-drawn X-Men Annual #3. As most of you know, this title just kept picking up steam. Aside from the 2-3 filler issues (the Dreaded Deadline Doom), every issue was pulse pounding and senses shattering. You know what I'm saying!

As to my coming-up reading list, I've already pulled three hardcovers for immediate consumption: Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams, volume 1, Spider-Man Newspaper Strips, volume 1, and The Inhumans Marvel Masterworks, volume 2. Once school's out in a few days, I'll commence to also wading through a large stack of real books -- I need to finish Rep. John Lewis's (D-GA) memoir Walking with the Wind, and then I have a caboodle of additional Civil Rights books already purchased: The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. For lighter fare, my son gave me Tim Kurkjian's (ESPN baseball commentator) book, I'm Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies: Inside the Game We All Love and Keith Richards's autobiography, Life.

So what are your thoughts? What are you reading presently, or recently? What would you recommend to me, or do you see something we share that you'd pass along to a friend? If you are just happening by this space for the first time ever, you must know that in order to join our Loyal Order of Water Buffalo Lodge a comment must be made and left for all to see. True story. All you veterans -- you know the drill.

From Chicago to Wakanda to Plaszow to Selma - Doug's Summer Reading List

Doug: With yesterday's observance of Labor Day here in the States, summer has unofficially come to an end. And as we've done in the past around here, we like to query the reading lists of friends and discuss that of your hosts. I always look forward to these times to get recommendations and really to just get a finger on the pulse of our readers' preferences inside and outside the comics/graphic novel genre.

I was really floored when I set to gathering images for today's post. I knew I'd been somewhat prolific since May -- way more than in the past several summers -- but I had no idea how ravenous an appetite for reading I'd had. So in chronological order (because I'm a history guy, you know...), here are my accomplishments.

In May I actually finished a book I'd started in the fall of 2015. Having lived in the Chicago area for 95% of my life, my wife and I have an interest in Chicago history. So last year, while she read The Devil in the White City, I started Sin in the Second City. You can see from the taglines on the book's cover what it is basically about. It centers on a pair of sisters who arrive in town with the goal of setting up the best brothel in America. The Everleigh (get it?) Club was notorious, and the circumstances around its existence and demise were compelling reading.

I followed that book with a biography of Eliot Ness. I probably haven't seen but one or two episodes of the 1959-63 television show The Untouchables, but I love the 1986 film of the same name that starred Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, and Robert DeNiro. Last year my wife and I toured Union Station, site of the most memorable scene from that film. So I've had this closet interest in Ness, and upon seeing the book for sale at the Chicago History Museum I purchased it. Like all people and events, lives and circumstances tend to be romanticized over time. This would definitely be true of the history of the Untouchables, a story actually promoted by Ness himself. I had not known that after Prohibition ended Ness landed in Cleveland and became that city's Public Safety Director. Ness led an interesting, and conflicted, life to be sure. It was a good read.

When I headed to Washington, DC in mid-July I wanted to read something that could probably be conquered in the four-plus hours (round-trip) of flight time. Having recently downloaded a file of all the Tarzan novels to my Kindle, I chose Jungle Tales of Tarzan. It was my third read of that book, and its format as a collection of short stories was perfect. This also helped to set my mind for seeing the Tarzan film, which I did after my return.

For light reading while in Washington, because being immersed in the Holocaust definitely requires a mental break, I took my copy of the the Black Panther Marvel Masterworks. I've long been reporting that a storyline I'd never read but needed to was "Panther's Rage". I actually read the first three issues (of 13) while away from home, and then finished it upon my return. I have something in the works for later this fall in terms of a review of the story. Footnote: As Marvel is soon releasing a paperback Epic Collection version of the "Panther's Rage" story, and with the Marvel Premiere BP stories also included, I decided to sell my Masterworks and pre-order the softcover as a replacement. My copy sold on eBay last month for $120, so it was a wise decision financially.

While at the Holocaust Museum, a colleague recommended I read My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me. You can see the tagline on the cover. But the kicker is that the author's grandfather was not some obscure Nazi lost to the sands of time. No... Jennifer Teege's grandfather was none other than Amon Goth, commandant of the Plaszow Labor Camp and immortalized in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. Goth and his mistress, shown a couple of times in the film, had a baby girl just months before the War ended and Goth was hanged for his crimes. That baby girl grew up and had a relationship with a man of African descent which bore a daughter, Jennifer. Ms. Teege did not know the full truth about her background until she was an adult and how that new knowledge turned her life upside down is the theme of the book. Fascinating reading.

I felt like I needed something a little lighter to help balance the Teege book. On Amazon's Kindle Store, books that have fallen to the public domain are offered for a free download. While browsing I found the first Lone Ranger book and snatched it up. It was OK -- I found it perhaps more sociologically interesting in terms of the attitudes and stereotypes than I found it to be any sort of high literature. But I'm glad I read it. Funny, because I could "see" Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels in my head the entire time I read it and much of the dialogue seemed like it could have been used later in the television program.

 

I mentioned to a Twitter friend a few weeks ago, as he was on his way to hear Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) speak that I regretted passing on a rally in DC after the Dallas shootings. Lewis was to be the main speaker at a rally on the Capitol lawn. If you are not aware, John Lewis remains a major figure in the Civil Rights Movement, and is the last living person who spoke at the March on Washington on 28 August 1963 (site of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech). Lewis has authored a memoir in the graphic novel format. March has been issued in three volumes. I have read the first two and am awaiting the third installment, which will arrive with the Black Panther book I mentioned above. Highly recommended!

While reading March I was also reading Robert E. Howard's only full-length Conan novel, Conan the Conqueror. I read it from a Kindle file of Howard's complete Conan stories. It was a solid read, and a nice balance to the themes of Lewis's memoir. I'll recommend any Howard Conan, and follow it up with a tip of the hat to the way Marvel (notably Roy Thomas) handled the character in the Bronze Age.

So summer's over and I've begun reading Viktor Frankl's Holocaust memoir Man's Search for Meaning. But you know I'll have to have a mental diversion from those difficult events and themes, so from the Kindle I will also soon begin Johnston McCulley's The Mark of Zorro. That, and all the comics I read so that I can bring the reviews your way for consideration are on the horizon.

Now, how about you?

 

Discuss: Pulp Heroes

Doug: During my recent trip to Washington, DC, I used my Kindle and the flight time to devour (for the third time) Jungle Tales of Tarzan. I chose that because it is a collection of short stories and I knew I could down it during my allotted four hours of air time. Of course I take the racism of Burroughs' day for what it is/was and move on from there. A few days after I got home, while on the treadmill, I watched an episode of The Lone Ranger. It, too, had racist overtones: "Some man in a white hat and a redskin!" was one line. But I don't really want to get bogged down in the unsavory aspects of our past. Rather, let's have a conversation on these pulp heroes who persist to the present in their various incarnations. Take this any direction you want to - favorite iterations, multiple media representations, actors and/or comic book creators, etc. But be sure to have some fun before you leave.

The Legend of Tarzan - Spoiler-free Review

Doug: I saw The Legend of Tarzan Friday afternoon and I liked it. I can't say that I loved it, but I liked it well enough. For all the problems with previous live-action Tarzan productions, this one played most closely to the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. We've gotten a Tarzan film that, in its first act, corrected what in my opinion was Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes's downfall -- the return to London. This Tarzan, impossible as it may be to suspend one's disbelief (and most likely why Greystoke's creators didn't go there), is fully comfortable in his skin as John Clayton III, the 6th Earl of Greystoke. For starters, that helped me settle in with the anticipation that I'd enjoy the rest of the movie.

Karen: My husband and I also saw this film Friday -- I have to admit, he wasn't really interested in it, but since I went with him to see Independence Day: Resurgence, he owed me. Like you, I liked this, didn't love it. It was entertaining but never quite reached the heights of adventure or fantasy I might have hoped for. I will add though that I am not the Tarzanophile that you are; I've read 2, maybe 3 Tarzan books and that was in my teens. So my knowledge and appreciation is limited. Still, I've always liked the character. Perhaps my favorite version was the 70s cartoon!

Doug: As we've probably documented around here at some point, I read about half the novels in my teens. I've re-read the first 5-6 as an adult. As a child I enjoyed the Johnny Weismuller and Buster Crabbe films, and of course the Ron Ely TV show. I missed out on the Kubert DC comics (although I've read quite a few recently), but was in on the ground floor of Marvel's version.

Doug: Here's a plot synopsis, in case you haven't gleaned as much information from the various trailers and clips available on the Web:

It's been nearly a decade since Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård), also known as John Clayton III, left Africa to live in Victorian England with his wife Jane (Margot Robbie). Danger lurks on the horizon as Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz), a treacherous envoy for King Leopold II of Belgium, devises a scheme that lures the couple to the Belgian Congo. Rom plans to capture Tarzan and deliver him to an old enemy in exchange for diamonds. When Jane becomes a pawn in his devious plot, Tarzan must return to the jungle to save the woman he loves.

Doug: I've seen many a'reviewer take issue with the racial issues involved in this story and its current depiction. I've seen people say they cannot believe that another Tarzan film is being made. Listen, I teach a course on human rights... in history. The people who would decry this film might be the same who would cheer the remake of Roots, or the recent film 12 Years a Slave. From the top, one thing I'd cheer is that all of the Black characters were actually played by Blacks. That may sound stupid, but it's progress for Hollywood. But anyway, I was happy to see this as a period piece, rooted in the years following the 1884 Berlin Peace Conference and the Age of Imperialism. God, Gold, and Glory, indeed -- all were fully on display in this film and the script writers didn't run from it. Uncomfortable? Sure. But you know what? When I prepare my students to see scenes from Schindler's List, I email their parents to inform them that their student is going to watch an R-rated film in my classroom. I close by saying, "...but then some have said the Holocaust was R-rated." The values of 2016 have certainly not always been the values of mankind. It should be OK to talk about that.

Karen: Before this film came out, I saw any number of articles about how awful it was that anyone was making a Tarzan film, and how Tarzan was inherently racist. While I understand people's concerns, I do wish they would watch something before they paint it with that brush. If anything, this film bends over backwards to undo the wrongs of past films. The African natives --Tarzan's friends -- are depicted as equal partners in his adventure. Their friends and family members have also been taken as slaves by the Belgians and they have a stake in what is going on. If anything, the characters (particularly Jane) probably come off a bit too modern, but I am sure this is a concession to today's audience, who seem unable (or unwilling) to relate to people of a time period other than their own. I also read some reviews that complained that the writers tried to integrate real world events into the story. I liked it. I thought it made for a meaningful situation. That said, some more fantasy elements would have gone a long way.  For me, Tarzan has always been about the dichotomy of the civilized man vs. the wild, natural man, and how that lives in all of us. There is that yearning to be free, to be a part of nature, that Tarzan represents. I'm sure others interpret it differently. 

Doug: I did not get the opportunity to see the recent remake of The Jungle Book, but I understand that the CGI animals were outstanding. I thought the animators did a great job here, but I read one reviewer say that Jungle Book's were better. In comparison to Greystoke, this was a huge step forward in terms of the great apes. Very lifelike. If I have a nitpick in regard to Tarzan's relationships to the animals, it's that there was not enough communication with the Apes -- really no acknowledgement that he was in the presence of "his" tribe -- and way too much Dr. Doolittle-like communication with other species. I can expound if and when we get to a fully-spoiled post.

Karen: I did see The Jungle Book, and I'd have to agree the animals in that film were outstanding. I was never taken out of the movie, despite them being talking animals. Here, there were times where the effects were a little obvious. But all in all, they weren't bad. I would agree with you that some of Tarzan's animal-influencing seems a bit contrived, especially towards the end of the film.

Doug: You know, as long as I'm on the subject of reviewers, I'll say this: I think that unless one is intimate with the source material, one should probably keep one's mouth shut. I have grown quite weary of "outsiders" telling me what makes a good movie about X (Tarzan, or any comic book adaptation, as examples). I say this in regard to Hollywood messing around with licensed properties and historical material -- with "based on a true story", Hollywood is compelled to give us more "based on" and less "true story", every time. They just know better, I guess (insert eyeroll emoji...).

Karen: I thought that Margot Robbie, while being a more modern Jane, was actually very winning and likable. Samuel Jackson was generally amusing. I'd like to see Christoph Waltz do something other than play the typical quietly threatening villain though -- that's getting a little old, and I felt he wasn't putting a lot of effort into it here. Finally, Alexander Skarsgard had a great look but was perhaps a tad too introverted in his portrayal -- I could appreciate that this was a more intelligent, reserved Tarzan, but he almost seemed to disappear at times.

Doug: We joked one time that Miles O'Keefe was perhaps the best-looking Tarzan ever to hit the silver screen, and maybe he was. But Alexander Skarsgard sure looked like the guy I saw in my mind when reading the novels (he could have used darker hair, though). Great size, and of course the muscle definition was right out of some bodybuilder magazine. I liked Margot Robbie's "tough" Jane.

Doug: I thought the film was decently-paced, maybe dragging just a bit in the last third of the picture. I got a little smile as that thought crossed my mind, though, as it occurred to me, "...just like one of Burroughs's novels."

Doug: Overall, this was a $6 matinee price well spent. I went by myself, as both of my sons are not in town presently. My wife offered to go, but this isn't even close to being in her wheelhouse. I actually did consider her offer, but then I thought of all the synopsizing I'd have to do to bring her up to speed, and what if the film depicted some things differently (they did), then it would be confusing, etc. I talked her out of going.

Karen: I feel sorry that she missed those spectacular abs!

Doug: So I'm not going to insert some crack about "Oh, but she does -- daily!". Oops -- just did.

The Return of Tarzan -- Dueling Pencils

Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes #156 (February 1966)

Gaylord DuBois-Russ Manning

Tarzan #s 219, 220, 221, 222, and 223 (April, June-September 1974)

Joe Kubert

Doug: A long time ago I got the crazy idea to showcase one Conan story, "The Tower of the Elephant", but drawn by two Bronze Age masters: Barry Windsor-Smith (inked by Sal Buscema) and John Buscema (inked by Alfredo Alcala). People got a kick out it then, and lo and behold if the crazy idea didn't hit me again. Today we'll also look at the work of two masters, this time Russ Manning and Joe Kubert, both men inking their own pencils. Manning and his scribe, Gaylord DuBois, adapted the ERB tale "The Return of Tarzan" in a single issue; Joe Kubert took five issues (!) to tell his version. Today we'll check out a 100-Word Review of the basic plot, so those not in the know can consider themselves... in the know. Then we'll look at some key scenes as told by these two wonderful artists. Enjoy!

Thrown overboard from a steamer, Tarzan swam toward the African coast. As fate played out, he took shore a short distance from the cabin where he was born. Searching for arms, he encountered a Black warrior and saved the man from Numa, the lion. Welcomed to the tribe, Tarzan soon became their chieftain. Tarzan led his troops in search of a lost city – Opar! There he found danger in the form of the 50 Frightful Men and La, their high priestess. He also found gold beyond imagination, which he later plundered for his own benefit. And he won Jane’s heart…

Doug: I have to say that 100 words wasn't really enough to do the plot justice, but darned if that ellipsis didn't land after the 100th word - nailed it! Joe Kubert spent 2 1/2 issues to get to the spot where DuBois and Manning began their adaptation. Kubert gave quite a bit of backstory in regard to Tarzan's "rejection" by Jane Porter in her favor toward William Cecil Clayton, Tarzan's cousin and Lord Greystoke. Tarzan's friend, Lt. D'Arnot had gotten Tarzan a position as an international spy (just suspend your disbelief, OK?), and our hero encountered a certain Nikoklas Rokoff. Rokoff was a dangerous Russian criminal intent on all manner of do-badding. It was Rokoff and his assistant who assaulted Tarzan unawares on the ship's deck. But before that had happened, Tarzan had by chance met Hazel Strong, the best friend of Jane Porter. What a coincidence - to be sailing near the southern tip of Africa with an American woman from Baltimore who just happens to be friendly with the forbidden fruit of your dreams. Man... And then when she tells that Jane doesn't want to marry Lord Greystoke but some Tarzan fellow she'd met in the jungle... Of course, being chucked into the sea sort of put all that on the back burner.

Doug: I'm going to choose several examples of Manning and Kubert telling the same parts of this story. I think you'll see how illustrative Manning's work was, and how raw Kubert's was. Manning's work sort of feels like the Ron Ely Tarzan television show; Kubert's feels more like the Christopher Lambert film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. I'd also say that Manning's women evoke the glamour girls of 1940's Hollywood. When necessary, I'll tell you what's going on, or where the two men parted company in just how they told this story. You can imagine that with Manning using 24 pages and Kubert exercising his prowess over 90 pages there were some differences. However, what really interested me were some details that I felt were important to the story that Kubert skipped altogether, and how each penciler put certain events in a different order. Doing this post makes me want to reread the Burroughs novel!

Scans today are coming your way from the Tarzan Comics Library, Volume One (Dark Horse Comics 1999) and Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years, Volume Two (Dark Horse Comics, 2006).

Manning gets after it right away; it took Kubert almost three full issues to get to this scene below!

Interesting how the creators handle this scene with the lion. In the Manning issue Tarzan loses his balance and needs to be saved by the African; Kubert has the ape-man ever dominant. We can infer that Tarzan intended to kill the African for his weapons, but Kubert's jungle lord thinks to himself that he could never kill to steal -- Kubert's scene shows a more skillful and noble Tarzan.

Here, Tarzan -- apparently no environmentalist, agrees to go on an elephant hunt with his new friends. Kubert presents the scene as a rogue elephant has endangered the compound and must be dealt with.

In both stories, Tarzan learns of a lost city filled with gold. A member of the Waziri tells him the rumors, so Tarzan selects 50 strong warriors to accompany him on his search. However, stereotypical "savage" superstitions get in the way of the mission.

I'm always digging the 50 Frightful Men -- Burroughs painted such a picture in my mind that artists' renditions always fall a little short in comparison to the way I'd originally "seen" these brutes... sort of like the Seven Dwarfs as craggy cave men.

La. I think Manning got it "right" moreso than did Kubert. Of course, many artists have tried their hand at depicting the high priestess -- click here. In the scene below, Tarzan protects La from a mad suitor.

The great escape. This is another scene that Burroughs did a great job of painting for me. It's interesting that Manning has Tarzan find the gold right away; in Kubert's version Tarzan leaves to meet up with the Waziri and then comes back and discovers the gold later.

Of course, what would a Tarzan epic be if there wasn't a scene where Jane Porter fell into mortal danger? Here she is captured by the 50 Frightful Men and taken to Opar. Again, Manning and Kubert tell this scene a bit differently, and spaced differently in the order of events.

William Cecil Clayton, deceiver of many, meets his ending -- and title of Lord Greystoke:

Tarzan weds his lady. Jane nee Porter becomes Mrs. John Clayton, Lady Greystoke.

I hope you enjoyed our joint tour of these two tellings of The Return of Tarzan. I found it fascinating as I read each story how the creators chose to tell certain parts, to take artistic liberties with Burroughs' original writing, and even to reorganize major plot points. I hope you had a good time looking at the samples I've provided today.

Doug: I actually saw this on Thursday (3/24/16), but didn't want to hijack Martinex's $1 Challenge. Those of you who have found pleasure in my various reveals of the IDW Artist Editions may recall that I've pre-ordered the Jack Kirby's Thor book that is supposed to ship in May. Here's a link to a site offering glimpses of the book -- spectacular stuff!