ANDY’S FAVORITES OF 2012:

Favorite Superhero Book of 2012: Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery: Sure it is a reprint, but it is book that showcases Grant Morrison at his Doom Patrol era weirdness and the great Frank Quitely being…well, the great Frank Quitely. The awesome title of the book and that marvelous cover by Quitely alone are worth the price of admission!  And here’s the best part.  This HARD-COVER  that collects the infamous 4 part mini-series is only $24.00!!!!  Earlier this year those two dozen hard-earned dollars would not have been enough scratch to purchase any one single issue of the original series. And did I mention Frank Quitely–well shame on me, I should have done that earlier.

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ANDY’S PICK :: TEZUKA: MESSAGE TO ADOLF GN VOL 01: If you were to combine Lee and Kirby, Neal Adams and Carl Barks and combine them into a single cartooning entity, this amalgam would still not be as influential to the American comic audience as Osama Tezuka is to Japanese Manga. In addition to creating, writing and drawing such long-running series as Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Black Jack, Phoenix, Buddha and literally dozens of others, Tezuka created Message to Adolf, a fictional tale that takes place during World War II.  This was originally published in the US as a six volume set.  Now Vertical Publishing is offering this ground-breaking series in two affordable hardcover books, the first of which is available this week.  This is a great place to sample the work of Tezuka (or any Manga for that matter) for the first time. If you are already a Manga fan, I know Adolf is already on your must-buy list.  Message to Adolf is a must-read.