I'm particularly pleased to see a Deathlok the Demolisher collection for this, his 40th anniversary year. This cyborg saga was my favourite Marvel comic back in 1974, and seemed so modern and edgy for its time.
Here's all the info from Samuel Taylor who worked on the books...
Fans of classic Marvel comics!
We at Panini Towers are proud to announce the release of three new Pocketbooks – Rocket Raccoon: Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant (Rocket Raccoon #1-4, Tales to Astonish #13, Marvel Preview #7 and Incredible Hulk #271), Uncanny X-Men: The Trial of Magneto (X-Men #195-200) and Deathlok the Demolisher (Astonishing Tales #25-28 and #30-35)!
Whether you’ve fallen for Rocket Raccoon after his breakout appearance in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, discovered the dastardly Deathlok in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or want to learn the final fate of the X-Men’s greatest enemy, there’s something for everyone in our latest batch of Marvel pocketbooks! Available from all good bookshops and online retailers, Panini's pocketbooks remain one of the best deals in all of comicdon!
They're available right now, so go out there and MAKE YOURS MARVEL!
Excelsior,
Samuel
PS If you're in the market for some mighty Marvel mastery, the ISBN numbers are as follows...
Rocket Raccoon: Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant - 978-1-84653-193-4
Uncanny X-Men: The Trial of Magneto - 978-1-84653-204-7
Deathlok the Demolisher: Origins – 978-1-84653-194-1
I wasn't really a fan of Rich Buckler - I especially disliked the way his art on Fantastic Four was a carbon copy of Jack Kirby's style, even individual panels were shamelessly copied from earlier Kirby panels.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Colin. I did find those issues enjoyable though, and I really liked his Deathlok series.
ReplyDeleteI never seem to find these books in Glasgow. The last batch still don't seem to have arrived although at that time Forbidden Plant in Glasgow got in a batch of around 20 older pocket books (covering about 8 titles - most I had) that all sold out in less than 2 weeks so there is a market - Like you Lew, Deathlok wasalso one of my favourites so I will need to track that one down.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit of a Buckler fan and loved his Avengers work, although he switched to often (for me) between being influenced by Kirby, Neal Adams and ( to a lesser extent) John Buscema -His FF stuff I agree was hit or miss (cant recall to many Kirby swipes though, but can imagine)
Yes, the books aren't easy to come by in shops. I've seen one or two in Waterstones but not for a few years. Forbidden Planet stock them but, like you said, they sometimes sell out.
ReplyDeleteI tend to buy them from The Book Depository via Amazon now. Works out cheaper sometimes. I don't buy all of them though but I have ordered the Deathlok one. I have all the original comics, and the hardback Masterworks that reprinted them, but it'll be nice to have a cheap little paperback version too.
Good idea Lew I didn't know you could get them there - I fancy the last Captain America and Thor issues as well as the new Deathlok - (I have most of the Astonising Tales run but Ihave read amd re read them so often they are literally falling apart.
ReplyDeleteIt's always worth checking Amazon if your nearest comic shop won't stock whatever books you want. My nearest comic shop is nearly ten miles away, and rarely stock books that I like (reprints of 1950s horror comics for example) so I buy from Amazon. Cheaper too. You'll find practically every book on comics there, however obscure.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I loved those original Deathlok stories in Astonishing Tales, for exactly the same reasons.
ReplyDeleteThat ROCKET RACOON four-parter from the eighties (used as one of the myriad of back-up strips in MARVEL UK's THE TRANSFORMERS) has gone from seldom-seen and long-forgotten to most-reprinted over the last 12-24 months. I keep seeing it pop up again in different formats and editions!
ReplyDeleteI hope Marvel are making a sizeable contribution to Mantlo's care costs… it seems like they own him one!
I must admit I've never been a Rocket Racoon fan, although I did like him in the movie and I like Scottie Young's art on the new series.
ReplyDeleteMike, seems a lot of us enjoyed those original Deathlok stories. Sadly there still weren't enough readers at the time to sustain the comic.
I picked these three up in London yesterday and, although I've not had time to start reading, I can report that they are very nice looking little volumes.
ReplyDeleteThe DEATHLOK edition (which brings memories of his stint as a STAR WARS WEEKLY back-up strip flooding back) even has some supplementary material (art etc.) tucked away at the back.
Sounds good. Mine's on its way.
ReplyDeleteThose Pocket Books started out with very tight binding and it wasn't easy to see the pages. They improved that several years ago and they're fine now. It's a shame they're not better distributed as I'm sure there must be many readers who'd like them but simply aren't aware they exist.