MARKLEY’S FEVERED BRAIN: SO YOU say IT’S YOUR birthday

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Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

Well, happy birthday to ya. Or so goes the song. I know a number of people whose birthday it was recently or soon will be, including my own and the esteemed editor of this blog. So in this blog I am going to discuss a number of books that would have made fantastic birthday gifts for me. No, I landed up buying all of these books myself as no one gave them to me as gifts, but they are all so good that I did not mind a bit. one of them I bought a second time so as to give as a gift to someone else. It was that good. all of these books are classics in their various genres and these books cover a wide range of subjects, styles, and audiences. Not only would any of these books make perfect birthday presents, any of them would be a perfect gift for the upcoming holidays!

Don Rosa library of Walt Disney Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck Vol. 10: The Old Castle’s other Secret

First off we have what a consider a very sad book to write about. Not because the story is sad as it is far from it, in fact it made me laugh out loud and harder than any book in years. It is sad because it is the last volume in the Don Rosa library of Walt Disney Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck Vol. 10: The Old Castle’s other Secret. I have raved and praised the first nine volumes of this series many times over the years it has been coming out, and within these ten volumes I would argue are some of the greatest comics ever done as you have a mix of grand adventure, humor, gag strips, history, drama, and an obvious love and passion for the subject matter. Rosa stopped doing Disney comics not because the sales declined or he could not find work, but because he chose to. He writes in this book how he got to do his dream and he did not want to over stay his welcome. I do not see how that would have been possible. but it was his choice to stop doing it and retire. This final volume has all long form stories, no short gag strips. Yet it is filled with laughs and slapstick humor that will leave you rolling on the ground. In addition to Uncle Scrooge and Donald there is Huey, Dewey and Louie, Daisy Duck, Gyro Gearloose, and the return of one of Scrooge’s most bitter enemies, The Black Knight. To me this book is worth the money if only for this Black Knight story, where Rosa is able to bring back a number of characters and themes from his earlier work, but also to tell a tale that would have made the Marx brothers proud. The sight gags are brilliant and the story is ingenious. but not only is there this classic, there is also the namesake story, The Old Castle’s other secret which goes back to both the Knights Templar saga but also fleshes out even more of the McDuck family history and their castle in Scotland (A number of the stories in here are about Scrooges history). and if these two stories were not enough, there is also a second reunion of the famous three Caballeros in a heartwarming adventure. Plus, to round it out there is a change of pace story where the Beagle boys invade Scrooge’s subconscious mind and dreams. Every story here is different from one another yet each is a masterpiece. In addition, there is a ton of information about the stories, their background, the history that the stories are actually based on, all of the little Barkisms that Rosa loves to throw in and so much more. I will miss these collections, but my hat is off to Fantagraphics for collecting all of Rosa’s work in these full color hardcovers. These ten volumes can be read over and over and never cease to bring you joy. I can honestly say Don Rosa’s body of work is something very few creators, if any, will ever duplicate. There is a not a clunker in this whole series, every page is near perfect .Mr. Rosa, thank you.

Sky Masters of the space Force: The complete Sunday Strips in color (1959-1960)

Next up is something completely different, other than it is another full color hardcover. sky Masters of the space Force: The complete Sunday Strips in color (1959-1960)  is put together and published by Ferran Delgado and the Jack Kirby museum and represents the best, and most beautiful, reproduction of this classic newspaper strip by the team of Dave Wood, Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. It was always Jack Kirby’s dream to do a newspaper strip, and he had a number of different attempts (this was because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Hal Foster) but the only strip that had any life to it was sky Masters. While the strip lasted a few years, with both daily and Sunday strips, this book just collects the first year of Sundays that Jack collaborated on with Wally Wood. This came after Jack and Wally did Challengers of the unknown together and before Jack devoted all his efforts to what became marvel Comics. The first thing that stands out in this collection is the love put into assemblingit. It is a stunning collection with every panel painstakingly restored to its original colors and every line perfectly contoured. Within these pages you see two masters as work telling an adventure story that is both thrilling and a reflection of the times, with the communist threat and the desire and dreams of space in the forefront of the American minds. It’s a tale of spies and astronauts, and so much more. When you add in the historical articles, the sketches, the never-before-seen art, you have an incredible piece of work. This is only the first year of the strip as it continued on long after Wally wood left the strip and was replaced by Dick Ayers as the strip ran until 1961. There have been a number of attempts to reprint this strip over the years but this collection is light years ahead of any of the previous collections. now we can only hope they go back and do the dailies with the same love and care, and the rest of the strip for that matter. A perfect book for comic fans, comic strip fans, and science fiction fans. Heck, for everyone.

20th Century boys Vol. 1 perfect Edition

Finally, Viz Media is reprinting the complete epic 20th Century boys Vol. 1 perfect Edition by Naoki Urasawa in their perfect edition format. I wrote about how breathtaking this tale of doomsday cults, giant robots, and a group of kids whose childhood would lead them to adulthood where they must stop the end of the world. The original Viz editions ran 22 volumes but they are now being redone in oversized (at least compared to the original books) huge (over 400 pages per) collections that include the original color pages from the Japanese volumes which were never before reprinted in America. In many ways this is a nice companion to the sky Masters books above. While sky Masters is filled with the wonder and opportunities the future holds, this story is about what a disappointment and failure mankind has become. The story is immensely complex, rivaling a John LeCarre novel, and when I read the single volumes years ago there were times where I got lost. With these new versions it reads so much better as you get such large chunks of story at one time and it flows much smoother than the single volumes. Naoki Urasawa is one of my favorite manga creators, and I have never read anything from him that was less than brilliant. (Be sure to also check his other epic, Monster, which I thought was his best work till I read 20th Century Boys). another thing I discovered while reading this perfect collection is how rich and deep this tale is and how much more I got out of it and how many subtle details I missed the first time I read it. This is a great book for any reader, but especially for fans of complex stories of human nature, which do not nessiarially have a happy ending. and if you are wondering, yes the title of this series refers to the classic T-Rex song.

These three books are what I would have wanted for my birthday, but they would make perfect gift to give yourself. All three are very different in terms of style, content, and presentation, but all three are true masterpieces in their own way. Also, all three can be read over and over and each time you will get more out of the stories, and you will notice little things in the art that you missed the first time through. All three books are must haves to me. (And Christmas is coming..hint..hint..)

That is all for this time. I hope some of you have tried some of these books. I know most of you know Jack Kirby, perhaps not his newspaper strip work, but his immense contribution to the world that is marvel Comics. You may not know Don Rosa, but I am sure you are aware of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, and they are rarely presented better than here. and I doubt many of you are familiar with Naoki Urasawa, but now is your chance to discover his genius. If I am wrong, and you have read these books, what did you think? If you are inspired to read one, please let me know what you thought after reading it. I can be reached at MFBWAY@AOL.COM or on Facebook at Wayne Markley. all of these thoughts and words are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. As always…

Thank you.

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