Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing

Release Date: April 2011

Price: $19.95

Creator(s): Roy Thomas, Jim Amash, George Perez, Rich Buckler, Jerry Ordway

Format: 160 pgs., B&W w/ partial color, Trade Paperback

ISBN: 978-1-6054-9031-1

Age Rating: All Ages

ICv2 Rating: 5 out of 5

 

Over 100 issues and fifty years Alter Ego has gone from a fanzine to the premiere magazine about the Golden, Silver and increasingly the Bronze Ages of American comic books.  And this special 160 page trade paperback anniversary edition contains that publication’s usual assortment of insightful articles and informative interviews as well as a extensive retrospective of its history.

 

Edited by Roy Thomas, who is also interviewed about his career writing comic books, and featuring a cover by Rick Buckler and Jerry Ordway, the contents include work by George Perez, Todd McFarlane, Gene Colan, Ernie Colon, Gil Kane, Stan Goldberg and Ross Andru.  There are also installments of all of the magazine’s regular features including "We Didn’t Know It Was The Golden Age" by Marc Swayze and Michael T. Gilbert’s "Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt" as well as a reprint of the first issue of the Alter Ego fanzine.

 

Alter Ego has grown from its fannish roots to become a thoroughly professional publication of journalism and history and though it takes comics seriously its appreciation for them is still apparent on every page.  It’s obvious this remains a labor of love for everyone involved and is without question primarily intended for hardcore comic book fans, especially those who love superheroes, and the more you know about that subject the more you’ll get out of it.  But it’s written in such a fun and lively way that even relative newcomers to the field should find plenty of interest here.

 

--Steve Bennett: Writer and retail services consultant.