ShareThis"Comics have finally joined the mainstream." That's how George Gene Gustines began his March 5 story in The New York Times, introducing the gray lady's new weekly best-seller lists for "graphic books."
Yes, books. The Times is eschewing the common term "graphic novels," for reasons I agree with: Not all graphic books are novels. Some are collections of reprints, some are anthologies, some are biographies, etc.
The No. 1 on the hardback list, "Starman Omnibus Vol. 2," is part of a series of hardbacks collecting a DC Comics title that ran from 1994 to 2001 about the son of a 1940s superhero. Written by James Robinson, it's a hero's journey from callow youth to responsible adult that many (including this reviewer) found fascinating.
But I'd rather talk about the No. 2 book, "Eerie Archives Vol. 1" (Dark Horse, $49.95) -- because I've been waiting 44 years to read it!
This hardback collects the first five issues of "Eerie," a horror magazine published by Warren Publishing beginning in 1965. Warren published a line of black-and-white titles in the '60s, including "Creepy," "Blazing Combat" and "Vampirella," all as magazines to avoid the restrictive Comics Code on comic books. However, you had to be 18 to buy them, which left the pre-teen Captain pretty frustrated.
So I've been waiting more than four decades to find out what was so naughty in these books that I had to be protected from. And you know what? I haven't found a single naked breast or instance of ultra-violence. "Eerie," like the first two volumes of "Creepy" that Dark Horse has published, was pretty tame by today's standards.
However, it was awfully good. Warren hired a lot of the creators who made EC the legendary horror line of the 1950s -- Jack Davis, Johnny Craig (under the pen name Jay Taycee), Reed Crandall, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Al Williamson, Wally Wood and others. And there were impressive new names, like paperback-cover artist Frank Frazetta, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko and the legendary writer/editor Archie Goodwin.
So I've been pretty pleased by the "Eerie" and "Creepy" archives, and I'm looking forward to the "Blazing Combat Archives" whenever it arrives. A "Vampirella Archives" doesn't seem likely, unfortunately, as there is a copyright dispute with Harris Publications.
The No. 1 paperback on the NYT list is "Watchmen" (which is also No. 3 on the hardback list). There's already been a fair amount of ink spilled on that classic lately, including in this column, with the debut of the movie March 6. So I'll just repeat that it's a must-read.
Instead, I'll talk about the No. 6 paperback, "Showcase Presents: Superman Family Vol. 3" (DC Comics, $16.99) -- because I'm currently reading it. This volume continues the chronological reprinting of "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" (which began in 1954) and "Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane" (1958), and contains the stories first printed from March 1959 to April 1960. That's about three years before my own collection begins, so I'm reading these stories -- 500 pages' worth, in black-and-white -- for the first time.
Are they silly? Yes, very. Jimmy is constantly finding himself in goofy adventures -- traveling through time and space, growing extra arms, turning into a werewolf -- because of his own impulsiveness and, yes, stupidity. Lois spends most of her pages trying to expose Superman's secret identity or trap him in marriage -- often at the same time.
But there's still a lot to recommend. For one thing, it's a snapshot of time when women were essentially second-class citizens, and today's readers (especially girls) could benefit from seeing how dreadful that was. Also, the art is terrific, although not splashy. The Jimmy stories are largely by Curt Swan, the greatest Superman artist of all time. And the Lois stories are mostly by Kurt Schaffenberger, whose "Jackie O" Lois Lane is rightly considered a classic. With tight plots by veteran writers like Otto Binder, these stories are fanciful and fun, set in an optimistic time far less grim than our own. Kid-safe, too!
The No. 1 manga title is "Naruto Vol. 38," with other volumes of the popular Japanese series about a clumsy ninja in training taking up seven of the other nine slots. I can't say a lot about it, because I don't read it (yet). But if the trade volumes aren't enough, follow Naruto in Viz's "Shonen Jump" magazine, plus the animated movie and TV shows.
(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)
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