Fantagraphics recently announced that they’ve struck a deal for seven (7) new books with writer/editor Greg Sadowski, who was responsible for Supermen!: The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941 and a couple of B. Krigstein-related works for the publisher.

The books will be published one a season, so seven of ‘em is really planning ahead, and should carry them through to fall of 2012 or so (I don’t even have my next seven blog posts planned yet).

Here’s what they have planned at the moment…

Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s
This is going to be a 300-page collection of pre-code horror comics, looking beyond the EC publications popularly associated with the era to include works from Ajax-Farrel, Atlas, Charlton, Fawcett, Quality and Standard. Artists involved include Jack Cole, Steve Ditko, George Evans, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Basil Wolverton, Wally Wood and others.

Setting the Standard: Alex Toth at Standard Comics 1952-54
Just what the name says, the book will collect Toth’s work at the titular company after doing time at Eastern and DC.

The Road to Plastic Man: The Golden Age Comics of Jack Cole 1937-41
This is the one I’m most looking forward to, as big a fan as I am of Cole’s Plastic Man work (This seems like a good time to call again for a Plastic Man Chronicles from DC; they have to say yes, eventually, right?). According to Sadowski, this will feature Cole’s work on Centaur’s Funny Pages and adventure and hero comics featuring Dickie Dean, Comet, Daredevil, Silver Streak and Claw, pictured to your left (He’s the one with the claws).

Away From Home: EC Artists at Other Companies
This will contain work from—deep breath—Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, George Evans, Will Elder, Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen, Bernard Krigstein, Harvey Kurtzman, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Basil Wolverton, Wallace Wood, Al Williamson, as Frank Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel, Alex Toth and Angelo Torres. Whew.

Creeping Death From Neptune: Basil Wolverton’s Sci-Fi and Horror Comics 1938-55
This book will focus on Wolverton’s “serious” Golden Age work, featuring sci fi business like Space Patrol, Meteor Martin, Spacehawk and some horror work.

The Comic Book Frankenstein: The Monster According to Dick Briefer
Here’s the other one I’m personally most looking forward to. Even if you’ve never read an actual Briefer Frankenstein comic, you’ll no doubt recognize his version of the monster on sight—it’s the sometimes silly, sometimes scary monster, with a nose that’s actually over the creature’s eyes (If you’re anxious to see Briefer’s Frankenstein’s monster in the mean time, this post from The Groovy Age of Horror that links to plenty of material online is a pretty great place to start).

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Related: Matthew Brady has a fortuitously timed post examinging Sadowski’s Supermen! from earlier this week. Check it out here.

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