A collection of obsessively detailed comic book sites

June 9, 2005 9:34 AM

Marvel Masterworks compile old Spider-Man and Fantastic Four comic books into handsome, economical volumes. Only on the web can one find a cross-referenced chronological list of the comics they reprint. In fact, there are scores of obsessive sites detailing comic book minutae: Marvel Comics Group 1939-1980, The Timely-Atlas-Marvel Chronology, Marvel Silver Age timeline, complete Marvel Bronze Age timeline (or with just the core titles), The Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Index, and The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators. Some might be more interested in a checklist of appearances by DC Golden Age characters. Whichever comic company you prefer, the trade paperback list is a godsend. Indulge your inner geek!
posted by jdroth (12 comments total)

When I was a boy, I collected comics and read them to rags. In college I sold my entire comic collection (thousands of comics) for $100 to get cash for a weekend at the beach with the girl I was dating.

Now, of course, a lot of those old comics are worth a bit of money. More to the point, I miss some of the stories, as corny as they were. I've tried reading modern comics, but they just don't hold the same appeal. Instead, I find myself buying the compilations of older material.

I had tried to develop a timeline on my own — I even asked MeFi for help — but through a wasted afternoon, I found this pile of links, some of which are fun, some which are useful, and some of which are just scary in their obsessiveness.
posted by jdroth at 9:44 AM on June 9, 2005

This is great -- my inner geek says thanks.

On a related topic, I just learned about the new CD-ROM collections for certain Marvel comics. For example, you can get issues 1-501 of Amazing Spider-Man all in one electronic package. Definitely not as fun to read a comic on-screen, but getting a full run of 500 comics in one place is pretty cool.
posted by brain_drain at 9:54 AM on June 9, 2005

Wow. Really nice collection of resources. Thanks a lot.
posted by COBRA! at 9:57 AM on June 9, 2005

Thank you, true believer!

(You know, more people need to talk like Stan Lee.)

Excelsior!
posted by keswick at 10:03 AM on June 9, 2005

Ah, Marvel. Their stories start out so well, but when things look like they're going wrong, they just start hitting plot buttons at random, looking for the off switch. And that's when you end up with reincarnations of clones from the future.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:33 AM on June 9, 2005

Faint of Butt -- Marvel has always masticated the major one. Let's raise the cheer: DC (1948-68) forever! That said, this is a terrific, although kind-of-strangely laid out, resource. Check out the DC Archives series. A model for comics reprint greatness. Gosh, what tremendous geeks we are.
posted by shambles at 12:23 PM on June 9, 2005

Thank you. I think this is what the internet was invented for.
posted by marxchivist at 12:58 PM on June 9, 2005

I think I prefer Marvel's Essentials series, the volumes are about twice as long and half as much. They're black and white on newsprint, but hey, these stories weren't exactly written to be viewed on super gloss 3000 paper anyway.

And anybody that wants to brush up on history, I'm an avid reader of Comics 101 on Movie Poop Shoot. That guy has an encyclopedic knowledge of comics that could put anybody to shame.
posted by ScottMorris at 1:30 PM on June 9, 2005

Yeah, ScottMorris, I, too, generally stick with the Essentials. They're cheaper, and I (for one) don't mind the loss of color. I'm pretty excited that DC has recently announced that they'll do a similar line of books black-and-white books reprinting Silver Age stuff. Their DC Showcase line will start this fall with a Superman/Green Lantern reprint, followed by a Jonah Hex book. (More discussion here.)

I really wanted to mention the great comic strip compilations that are available. They're my real obsession. I'll save those for a future post maybe.
posted by jdroth at 1:43 PM on June 9, 2005

Thanks a fucking lot, jdroth - now I'm out $74 for the Fantastic Four Omnibus. I'm with you on having sold my old collection _ I had every Spiderman from #2 on, all the Avengers & Fantastic Four from #4 on plus many more - all sold for pennies so I could afford a new tire on my Honda. Seriously, great find....
posted by Pressed Rat at 5:58 PM on June 9, 2005

Marshal Law!
posted by freebird at 10:34 PM on June 9, 2005

I'm pretty excited that DC has recently announced that they'll do a similar line of books black-and-white books reprinting Silver Age stuff.

Ooh that is pretty exciting. I was hoping something like that would finally come out. Actually, I'm much more into comic strips myself, but few of the real treasures seem to be coming out. We've got good collections of Krazy Kat, Peanuts, and Lil' Abner, but nothing for Pogo, or any of the really old Sunday features that were so big and beautiful. Besides Krazy Kat, that's what I'd really like to see.
posted by ScottMorris at 1:52 PM on June 10, 2005