Bill Everett Archives goes digital at Comixology!

September has seen the debut on "Heroic Tales: The Bill Everett Archives vol. 2" in stores, but you can now get both volumes of the series available for digital download at Comixology! Click on the titles of each volume for links right to their respective Comixology pages.

Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 1 - collects over 200 pages of this never-before-reprinted work from titles such as Amazing Mystery Funnies (1938), Amazing-Man Comics (1939), Target Comics (1940), Heroic Comics (1940), and Blue Bolt Comics (1940). These titles feature an endless array of great vintage Everett characters such as Amazing-Man, Hydroman, Skyrocket Steele, Sub-Zero, The Chameleon, and many more, all produced by Everett’s shop Funnies, Inc. for such clients as Centaur, Novelty Press, and Eastern Color, and all displaying Everett’s brilliant cartooning and energetic storytelling.

This book collects over 200 pages of this never-before-reprinted work from titles such as Amazing Mystery Funnies (1938), Amazing-Man Comics (1939), Target Comics (1940), Heroic Comics (1940), and Blue Bolt Comics (1940). These titles feature an endless array of great vintage Everett characters such as Amazing-Man, Hydroman, Skyrocket Steele, Sub-Zero, The Chameleon, and many more, all produced by Everett’s shop Funnies, Inc. for such clients as Centaur, Novelty Press, and Eastern Color, and all displaying Everett’s brilliant cartooning and energetic storytelling. - See more at: http://www.fantagraphics.com/browse-shop/amazing-mysteries-the-bill-everett-archives-vol.-1-pre-order-2.html#sthash.HsgMHgyx.dpuf

This book collects over 200 pages of this never-before-reprinted work from titles such as Amazing Mystery Funnies (1938), Amazing-Man Comics (1939), Target Comics (1940), Heroic Comics (1940), and Blue Bolt Comics (1940). These titles feature an endless array of great vintage Everett characters such as Amazing-Man, Hydroman, Skyrocket Steele, Sub-Zero, The Chameleon, and many more, all produced by Everett’s shop Funnies, Inc. for such clients as Centaur, Novelty Press, and Eastern Color, and all displaying Everett’s brilliant cartooning and energetic storytelling. - See more at: http://www.fantagraphics.com/browse-shop/amazing-mysteries-the-bill-everett-archives-vol.-1-pre-order-2.html#sthash.HsgMHgyx.dpuf

Heroic Tales: The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 2 - is almost 250 pages deep; a huge heaping of not only the remainder of his Golden Age action hero material, but his 1950s horror work, his humor and romance material, as well as his phenomenal fantasy work from the early 1970s. Most everyone knows that Bill created the Sub-Mariner (for Marvel Comics #1 in 1939) and co-created Daredevil, The Man Without Fear (along with Stan Lee) in the 1960s, but he also touched every genre in comic-book history, and you see it all in this volume.

Get into the digital age with Bill Everett and Comixology!

NYC Book Release Party w/ Al Jaffee & Stan Goldberg!

Check out the "Secret History of Marvel Comics" Book Blog for an announcement about our official book release event in New York City on the Saturday (Oct 12 at 7pm) of the NY Con at the Society Of Illustrators! 

Not only will you get a crack at the book weeks before it hits stores, but we're being joined by famed artists AL JAFFEE and STAN GOLDBERG who will discuss their memories of working for Martin Goodman during the halcyon days of Marvel Comics in the 1940s and 50s! 

Your ticket also gets you get a signed, limited edition, tipped-in plate; an exclusive book signing session; a catered reception afterwards (!) and the debut of the "Martin Goodman Exhibit!" Tickets are extremely limited, so go to the book's blog for a link to purchase tickets.

"Secret History Of Marvel Comics" 1st Look!

We're back for the third time in a week; this time with news on the release of my third book coming out this fall: "The Secret History Of Marvel Comics". The publisher, Fantagraphics, has received some promo copies, and we've got three teaser images to whet your appetite! (Click to enlarge)

If you want a crack at getting your copy first, you can click HERE to pre-order the book right from the Fantagraphics website. The book is on target for a mid-to-late October release (right after my Bill Everett Archives vol. 2 book, and my Steve Ditko Archives vol. 4 book, also out in early October).


Marvel Comics would probably prefer that their origins go unremembered, but myself and early Marvel historian, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, trace Marvel's roots in the sordid, exploitative pulp publishing empire of Martin Goodman. You'll also be treated to a bounty of rare, never-before-reprinted artwork by such comics legends as Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, Alex Schomburg, Bill Everett, Al Jaffee, and Dan DeCarlo, plus top-tier pulp artists, including Norman Saunders, John Walter Scott, Hans Wesso, and L.F. Bjorklund.

Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 4 first look!

Well, I was going to do an update on why you should purchase "Heroic Tales: The Bill Everett Archives vol. 2" (on sale now directly from Fantagraphics; in stores in the next 2 weeks), but how about your first look at the new cover for "Impossible Tales: The Steve Ditko Archives vol. 4!" (At a book a week, maybe you'll get news on our "Secret History Of Marvel Comics" book next!)

You click on the image above, or to see the entire wraparound cover, click on the image below. This latest volume of Ditko goodness - continuing the exhibition of his 1957 work - should be available in early October! Fantagraphics always gets their mail-order copies out first, so you can pre-order from them right now at this link on their website.

Five years before Steve Ditko began work on his co-creations for Marvel Comics, the Amazing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, he was producing his best work in near anonymity for Charlton Comics. “Impossible Tales: The Steve Ditko Archives V4” features over 200 full-color pages of Ditko in his early prime. These are stories that have never seen a proper reprinting until now; thrilling stories of suspense, mystery, haunted houses, and unsuspecting victims all led into Ditko’s web of artistic mastery over the comic-book form.

This fourth volume ranks as the most superior in the Archives series to date because of the inspiration Ditko took from comics related to old radio shows and that had hosts who narrated the tales. This Magazine is Haunted and Tales of The Mysterious Traveler saw an explosion in Ditko’s ingenuity with manipulating the traditional comic-book page layout. This level of excellence was also present in his work on other books like Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds, Out of This World, Strange Suspense Stories, and Unusual Tales, marking this fourth volume as the best example yet of the Steve Ditko that later crafted iconic classics with Stan Lee at Marvel Comics in the 1960s.

(Click on the image below to enlarge)

Bill Everett Archives Vol. 2 on sale now!

You heard right. You can finally purchase "Heroic Tales: The Bill Everett Archives vol. 2"! Click HERE to go to the ordering page on the Fantagraphics web site where you can purchase volume two, or buy both volumes at a deep discount.  

Currently, you can only purchase the book from Fantagraphics.

It may not be available in retail stores and online places like Amazon.com for another three weeks, so if you can't wait, jump on it now! (Technically, the assigned street date is September 21, but it could be available earlier, depending upon the sales channel.)

Why should you buy the Bill Everett Archives vol. 2?

1) It features Bill Everett at his most refined. We finish off the Golden Age of Comics hero material, and then move right into his work done at the peak of his career, from the 1940s right until his passing in the 1970s.

2) Get a sampling of his pre-Code horror material published by Marvel in the early 1950s. This volume features SEVEN stories from 1950-52 of Everett at his horrific best!

3) The variety of the work. See Everett draw horror, romance, humour (on his super-rare Cracked Magazine material), adventure, war, western...and Bing Crosby! There's lots of work here by Everett that I guarantee you've never seen before!

4) Almost 7000 words detailing Everett's career, including never-before-seen quotes from Everett about working with Marvel Comics in its first days back in 1939-42!

In the meantime, want to see a video preview of what the book looks like?

Bill Everett Archives v2 ToC & 23-page preview unveiled!

The release of "Heroic Tales: The Bill Everett Archives vol.2" is almost upon us! Click here to view the book's page on the Fantagraphics Books, Inc. website , has a page on its website where you can:

1) view a 23-page (!) preview.
2) pre-order the book and get vols. 1 and 2 at a major discount!
3) view the Table of Contents for the first time ever.

I emphasize the last point because the contents of the book has never been revealed until now...and it is filled with surprises! The vast majority of the book shows Bill Everett at his absolute peak, at his most refined as an artist, covering his earliest days in 1940 until his passing in 1973.

You get a huge heaping of not only his Golden Age action hero material, but his 1950s horror work, his humor and romance material, as well as his phenomenal fantasy work from the early 1970s. Most everyone knows that Bill created the Sub-Mariner (for Marvel Comics #1 in 1939) and co-created Daredevil, The Man Without Fear (along with Stan Lee) in the 1960s, but he also touched every genre in comic-book history, and you see it all in this volume.

You also get a number of essays by yours truly that covers the beginning of his days in the industry up until his passing, with quite a number of quotes by Everett from an unpublished interview in the late 1960s.

Thanks for everyone who purchased "Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives vol. 1" and we hope that you'll support this second (and last) volume dedicated to one of the medium's greatest artists: Bill Everett!

Half price on all my books at my NYC Event!

For those who have been following the new Secret History Of Marvel Comics Book Blog, you'll know that I am going to be in New York City this coming Wednesday at 7pm for a pre-release event at the Society Of Illustrators. We've given people lots of reasons to attend: 1) a special, limited edition, tipped-in plate only available in NYC; 2) discount tickets if you pre-order the book from Fantagraphics; 3) author Danny Fingeroth interviewing me and co-author, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo about the making of the book; 4) a first-look preview slide show of the book's contents, including works by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Alex Schomburg, Bill Everett and many more; 5) an audience Q&A; 6) a special book signing event after the show. And now we give you one more reason to attend!

50% of all my books
For the book signing event after the show, I'll be making the special offer of selling my books at half off the cover price. That's right; all my $40 books will be available (to also be signed by me) at only $20 per copy. The books included are:

• Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko
• Unexplored Worlds: The Steve Ditko Archives vol. 2
• Mysterious Traveler: The Steve Ditko Archives vol. 3
• Fire & Water: Bill Everett...
• Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives vol. 1

I only have a certain number of each books left, so if you'd like to reserve copies, you can send the $20 via Paypal to ditko37@rogers.com, and I'll make sure you have a copy waiting for you.

* If you can't make the event, but still want to take advantage of the offer, contact me at the above email address, we can work out the cost of shipping, and I'll send off whatever is available after the event. (Remember, I will be in the U.S. during this time, so shipping will be much cheaper than sending from my hometown of Toronto, Canada.)

We're hoping to see everyone at the event as we unveil a first peek at the contents of the Secret History of Marvel Comics, available in stores by November of 2013 from Fantagraphics Books, Inc.!