Had lunch with the in-laws yesterday, and visited Mrs. B's youngest sister and her husband in Sweeden. No, that's not misspelled and no, it's not the country. Well, it is IN the country- Sweeden is a tiny little community some twenty miles northwest of my own little community. Anyways, back to the matter at hand: we stopped at the local Family Dollar store, and as I browsed around my eyes lit upon what you see above. Apparently Marvel has been releasing these "Dollar Digests" since last year, but this is the first time I've seen them. Each of these features the first three issues of each title, and in the case of the Spider-Man collection, the legendary Amazing Fantasy #15 as well, in black and white. I couldn't resist the opportunity to get this Lee/Kirby/Ditko goodness for a buck apiece, and sure enough they were mighty good reading. Lee really hadn't gotten into a groove yet, and a lot of the dialogue really scans awkward and flat, but this is Ditko and Kirby at the top of their games, giving us great action all the way through. The stories all seem to be intact and unedited, and even contain pinup pages- in the case of the Spidey omnibus, it even reprints the full-page explanation of why there isn't a letters page in #2, with what seems to be a Kirby Spidey illo, and a promise that letters will appear beginning in #3.
By doing a little research, i.e. searching the Midtown Comics website, I see that there is another Spider-Man collection available, as well as an X-Men and Hulk. Might have to keep an eye out for them next time I'm wandering around the Dollar Store/Family Dollar- I mean, geez- they are in B&W, and are kinda small, but it's a triple shot of seminal Marvel for one whole dollar and a hell of a fun read. A win-win situation if ever I saw one!
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