Hermes Press has announced an Alex Raymond monograph, a collection of Mandrake the Magician comics, and a Trina Robbins history of women in comics in the World War II era, all in hardcover, for release this year.

Alex Raymond:  An Artistic Journey:  Adventure, Intrigue and Romance, by comics historian Ron Goulart, will be a 10" x 13", 304-page, full color hardcover with printed endpapers retailing for $75.  Over 400 images, many scanned from Raymond’s originals, will be included in this comprehensive art book covering his full career.  Among the contents are Secret Agent X-9, Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, Rip Kirby, early strip work, commercial illustration, and more.

Mandrake the Magician the Complete King Years:  Volume 1, will collect issues #1-#5 of the comics, along with the back-up stores from King Features’ Flash Gordon.  These comics, which launched in 1966, feature covers by Fred Fredericks, Don Heck, and Andre LeBlanc; stories by Dick Wood; and interior art by Don Heck, Werner Roth, Fred Fredericks, Andre LeBlanc and Ray Bailey.  The volume includes a historical essay.

The 176-page 7.75" x 10.25" full-color hardcover with dustjacket and printed cover with endpapers will retail for $49.99.  The volume will be released in September.

Babes in Arms: Women in the Comics During the Second World War, by Trina Robbins, will release in August.  It will feature comic stories by Barbara Hall, Jill Elgin, Lilly Renee and Fran Hobber, with commentary and documentary extras by Robbins.  The 300-page, 7.75" X 10.25", full-color hardcover will retail for $60.