Pop Culture Safari!

Here's what looks good to me from Marvel in December:

THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON OMNIBUS HC
Written by WALTER SIMONSON
Penciled by WALTER SIMONSON with SAL BUSCEMA
Covers by WALTER SIMONSON
Considered by many to be the greatest run on Thor ever, Walt Simonson’s classic tales of the God of Thunder are collected here—completely remastered from the original artwork and newly colored by Steve Oliff! And there are too many timeless tales to count: The Casket of Ancient Winters! The death of Odin! The origins of Asgard! The sacrifice of the Executioner! Thor as a frog! The Mutant Massacre! The curse of Hela! The debut of Thor’s body armor! Guest-starring Beta Ray Bill, Nick Fury and the Avengers! Featuring the threats of Fafnir the dragon, Loki, Lorelei, Malekith the Dark Elf, Surtur, Hela, the Titanium Man, Kurse, Zaniac, the Marauders, the Absorbing Man, Fin Fang Foom, the Destroyer and the Midgard Serpent! Collecting THOR #337-355, #357-369 & #371-382 and BALDER THE BRAVE #1-4.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA STRANGE TALES VOL. 4 HC
Written by VARIOUS
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by HARRY ANDERSON
From the heart of the 1950s comes another dose of horrific monsters, unhinged lunatics, rampaging robots, and outer space invaders—the hallmarks of the explosive Atlas Era! Yes, it’s a new batch of classics from the time when your comics kept you up at night. Chock full of stories—most never before reprinted—that run the spectrum of twists, surprises and shocks, Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Strange Tales features a host of artistic talent rarely seen a single series! So prepare yourself for just a few of the shocks they have in store for you: Werner Roth will find out whether or not you’re made of “Flesh and Blood.” Joe Sinnot sets off the “Danger Signal.” Like it or not, Paul Reinman will discover whether you’re “Man or Beast.” John Romita sets his sights on “The Target.” And Bill Everett reveals “Karnoff’s Plan.” Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Strange Tales is a dark trip into the wry and subversive heyday of horror comics that pushed comics hysteria to the breaking point. So why don’t you see what all the hubbub was about and come join us for a scare? Collecting STRANGE TALES #31-39

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 13 HC
Written by GERRY CONWAY
Penciled by GIL KANE & ROSS ANDRU with JOHN ROMITA
Cover by JOHN ROMITA SR.
Norman Osborn’s memory has returned. The Green Goblin is back. Gwen Stacy is missing. And it will all lead to a confrontation atop the George Washington Bridge whose aftermath will leave Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man, forever changed. That’s right it’s the—spoiler warning!— death of Gwen Stacy, the story that put a generation into therapy and cemented the Green Goblin’s name as the definition of evil. The Marvel Masterworks present this tragic tale and a host of Spider-Man classics that would come to define the Webspinner’s world for years to come: the debut of Col. John Jameson’s werewolf curse, the Man-Wolf. The beginning of Harry Osborn’s descent into madness and suspicion and a certain green costume. The first appearance of Frank Castle—the Punisher—the maybe-villain, maybe-anti-hero who would rise to become one of Marvel’s most famous characters. Topping it off, there’s first appearance of the nefarious Jackal, the return of the Vulture, Hammerhead, the hilarious Human Torch-built Spider-Mobile, and the shocking wedding of Aunt May and Doctor Octopus! Add to that the debut of fan-favorite Spidey artist Ross Andru and what you have is a Marvel Masterworks! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #121-131

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE UNCANNY X-MEN VOL. 3 TPB
Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT & JOHN BYRNE
Penciled by JOHN BYRNE
Cover by JOHN BYRNE
The creative team that took the X-Men to their greatest heights—Claremont and Byrne—returns, so why worry, why wait, why not just dive straight into a full-out battle with Magneto! The Master of Magnetism has a score to settle with the students of the Xavier School, and each member of the merry mutants must struggle to hold onto their humanity as their nemesis strips them to their very core. A narrow escape leads them out of the fire, into the frying pan (a.k.a. the Savage Land) where they face Sauron and the immortal Garokk, the Petrified Man. As they refined their uncanny team, Claremont and Byrne began to peel back the layers of mystery behind their increasingly popular hot-headed Canuck, Wolverine. You’ll see his healing factor put on display for the first time, meet Mariko, a woman who seems to know the details of his shrouded past, and learn that he has a name, an enigmatic name—“Logan.” Meanwhile, thinking her teammates killed in their battle with Magneto, Jean Grey heads for Muir Island in the beginning of the storyline that will culminate in the Dark Phoenix Saga! That’s not all, though, there’s one more battle ahead for the X-Men, and it’s against the fan-favorite super team from up north—Alpha Flight! It’s the X-Men at their very best, so reserve your copy today, True Believer! Collecting X-MEN #111-121

Not much of interest (namely Silver- and Bronze-age reprints) to this aging fan on tap from DC in December, but a couple of things caught my eye:

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ANNUAL #1
Written by PAUL LEVITZ & KEITH GIFFEN
Art and cover by KEITH GIFFEN & JOHN DELL
The legendary team of Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen reunite on the Legion for the first time in 20 years! And their next 31st century masterpiece introduces the all-new, all-deadly Emerald Empress! She’s ultra-twisted! She possesses entire planets! And she devastates the Legion so completely, one Legionnaire will never be the same!
On sale DECEMBER 29 • 56 pg, FC, $4.99 US

DC COMICS PRESENTS: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1
Written by WALLACE WOOD, STEVE SKEATES and others
Art by WALLACE WOOD, GIL KANE, STEVE DITKO and others
Cover by WALLACE WOOD
As DC’s new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS series gets under way, relive these legendary tales from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1, 2 and 7! Don’t miss the origins of the team’s members, the death of a lead character, and more!
On sale DECEMBER 29 • 96 pg, FC, $7.99 US