Fantagraphics has announced a seven-book deal with editor Greg Sadowski for new collections of classic comic material. The books, which will be released “one per season” (we think that means three times per year, as in “book” seasons), will kick off with Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s, which will be released in June 2010. This 304-page collection will offer the work of Jack Cole, Steve Ditko, George Evans, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Basil Wolverton, Wally Wood, L.B. Cole, Matt Fox, and more, in work from publishers such as Ajax-Farrell, Atlas, Charlton, Fawcett, Quality, Standard, and others. Sadowski collaborates with Squa Tront’s John Benson on this book.
Sadowski offers a great rationale for these collections. “I try to provide a service to the reader who has neither the time, inclination, nor bank account to purchase and sift through hundreds of golden age comic books to glean off that precious 10%--the most distinctive and worthwhile examples from a particular genre,” he said.
The other 2010 release will be Setting the Standard: Alex Toth at Standard Comics 1952-54, which is planned for Fall.
Four other titles, dates TBA are:
The Road to Plastic Man: The Golden Age Comics of Jack Cole 1937-41
Away from Home: EC Artists at Other Companies
Creeping Death from
The Comic Book Frankenstein: The Monster According to Dick Briefer
Sadowski previously edited Superman: The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941, B. Krigstein, and B. Krigstein Comics for Fantagraphics.
