Friday, November 18, 2011

Forgotten Books: Will Eisner + Pirates = Hawks of the Seas


Here's a cool one. Will Eisner's pre-Spirit Sunday comic strip that's sort of a cross between Treasure Island and Captain Blood. My 1986 Kitchen Sink Press edition of the book is BIG, measuring 10 1/4 by 14 1/2 inches. It was reprinted in 2002 by Dark Horse as an entry in the Will Eisner Library (with a new cover), but unfortunately shrunk down to 7 x 10 inches. Eisner was only 20 when this strip began in 1936, and used the pseudonym Willis Rensie, but there are many fine panels that hint at the wonders to come in The Spirit.

Some samples:

 




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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Hank and Muddy: Mannish Boy & Got My Mojo Workin'

EMBARRASSING UPDATE: Hey, this was mean to be a reminder to check out Steve Mertz's fine novel, Hank & Muddy, but it was one of those future-scheduled posts that wasn't quite done. I was mighty surprised to see it turn up today. I meant to post a Hank Williams vid too. Sheesh. Still, you DO want to read Hank & Muddy. More on that HERE.

MANNISH BOY (WITH JOHNNY WINTER)


GOT MY MOJO WORKIN' (CANADA 1966)

Friday, November 11, 2011

Forgotten Books: STERANKO's Skaith Covers


I'm pretty sure Leigh Brackett's Eric John Stark books have not been forgotten. They're still in print, and pretty easy to find. But these Steranko cover editions from 1974 aren't seen much anymore.

Near as I can tell, Stark first appeared in a series of novellas in the pulp Planet Stories beginning in 1949. This 1974-1976 trilogy from Ballantine was a reintroduction of the character, leaning more toward fantasy than the earlier space operas. Geez, maybe I should read them one of these days.



Forgot some Books? Remember them each Friday via pattinase

Friday, November 4, 2011

Forgotten Books: Don Herron's Dashiell Hammett Tour guide


Until I met Don Herron, I thought maybe my old copy of the 1982 Dashiell Hammett Tour guide (above, with gray cover) was a rare first edition. Well… while it is a collector’s item, with a genuine circa-1982 Herron autograph, I now know it was the second of several incarnations of the guide, and if I did have a copy of the first, I’d really have something to crow about.


That first guide book (the red one) appeared in 1979, in an edition of only 313 copies, and is now mighty ding dang hard to come by. How much is it worth? Nobody knows, because apparently nobody who has one is willing to part with it.

My 1982 edition is 95 pages with wide margins and big type, with a lot of space devoted to maps and photographs. It’s great stuff, but looks pretty lean next to the book it has evolved into. The current edition, subtitled the Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook, is 214 pages of small type, with lots more photos, maps and info, and is infused with the insight Don has gleaned from his thirty-plus years of marching up and down the mean streets in the footsteps of old Dash.


Even if you never plan to visit San Francisco, if you’re a Hammett fan (and if you’re not, you should be), you should own this book. It offers a look at Hammett and his world that you just can’t get from a biography or critical study of his work. And through the wonders of Amazon, it can be yours for somewhere between $9.99 and $15.56. It's HERE. What are you waiting for?

Coming soon: Guidebook-like pics of my own Hammett tour and my encounter with Don Herron himself! 

Forgotten Books is a weekly feature (and and extremely cool one) of pattinase.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011