I've often called this the Golden Age of Reprints. And if I'm right, it may have ridden in on a Dark Horse.Recently, companies like Marvel, DC, Archie and Gemstone (which reprints Disney and EC comics) have been mining the vaults for material from eight decades. Formats range from cheap B&W "phone books" to pricey slipcase editions, and everything in between. It's been a bonanza for those interested in Marvel, DC, Archie, Disney or EC titles and characters.But for other companies in the long history of comics, you have to turn to Dark Horse. Founded in 1986, DH doesn't have an immense library stretching back to the 1930s. So it has countered with the most eclectic and exciting reprint program in the industry."I choose (titles) based on a variety of factors," said publisher Mike Richardson, "fondness for the characters, importance to comics history, creators involved, etc."Another factor is whether or not the rights are available."Some (titles) are in (the) public domain," Richardson said. "If the creators are alive, we will pay them some fee even if it is public domain. For other properties, we track down the copyright holder and negotiate a deal."Which, counter-intuitively, sometimes involves work from existing publishers. Dark Horse is reprinting Tarzan material from DC Comics, and Conan from Marvel. Those properties are actually owned by other companies, and were only leased to Marvel and DC -- and now to Dark Horse, which is reprinting the older work. Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian," for example, is being reprinted as the "Chronicles of Conan" trade paperback series -- which excites DH Conan editor Philip Simon no end."'Chronicles of Conan' Vol. 17 will be our biggest volume yet at 244 pages," Simon enthused, "and it's a Gil Kane tribute volume, much to my delight, as we're reprinting Kane's short 'Conan' run in the early 1980s with J.M. DeMatteis and Bruce Jones writing. ... Oddly enough, (it includes) the first Conan comics I ever read! ... I wanted to do something extra-special with this run of old comics, out of my respect for the creators and for the adventures they took me on when I was only 10 years old."In addition to Marvel and DC, and its own material (including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Hellboy and Sin City), Dark Horse is reprinting material from at least 10 other (mostly defunct) publishers. Among my favorites:-- ACG: Editor Richard Hughes of American Comics Group didn't much care for superheroes, and didn't join the bandwagon until 1965 -- just a few years before ACG went out of business. Before the end, though, ACG ran the quirky Nemesis in "Adventures into the Unknown" and the goofy Magicman in "Forbidden Worlds." ACG also produced the cult favorite "Herbie," about a "fat little nothing" that somehow always wound up on top (and was a sometime superhero himself). DH is reprinting all three series in hardback, and the latter is one that Richardson is particularly proud of. "It took a decade to finally get the Herbie book out," he said.-- Gold Key: While mostly publishing movie and TV tie-ins, Gold Key joined the superhero boom in the '60s with books like "Dr. Solar, Man of the Atom" and Russ Manning's masterpiece, "Magnus, Robot Fighter, 4000 AD." Both of those have gotten the hardback treatment, with "Mighty Samson" (about a mutant strongman in a post-nuclear-war future) in the wings.-- Harvey: I never read much from this company in my youth, which launched from the animation industry of the '40s. So, weirdly, I'm learning as an adult about Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Baby Huey, Little Lotta, Little Audrey and Little Dot from Dark Horse's cheap "phone book" archives.-- Warren: In the late '60s, publisher Jim Warren tried to revive the famed EC Comics horror style with B&W magazines (free of the draconian Comics Code) called "Creepy" and "Eerie." He largely succeeded, using some of the same artists (Reed Crandall, Jack Davis) and the legendary writing and editing skill of Archie Goodwin. Both are being reprinted in lush hardback.Here we are at the end of the column, and I still haven't mentioned First's "Nexus," Vortex's "Mister X," Comico's "Grendel," Dell's "Roy Rogers" or the gorgeous art of Mac Raboy on the 1940s "Green Lama." But why should I describe them? Dark Horse has made it possible for you to read them yourself.(Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)
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