Microscopic Roman centurions? Elderly ghosts clobbering gangsters? A haunted vintage of French wine? No conceit is too strange for Forbidden Worlds, the playfully bizarre anthology series that hit newsstands in 1951 and continued for 145 outlandish issues! Comic-book giants Al Williamson, Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, and Ogden Whitney helped to illustrate these pre-Comics Code gems! Issues #1 to #4 of the rare and fascinating Forbidden Worlds are now gathered into an archival hardcover, featuring the first in a series of introductory essays by comic-book historian and connoisseur of the obscure, Dan Nadel (Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries, 1900-1969)!

Vietnam, 1965: US Army Private First Class Tom Cargill seemed like most soldiers to the men in his squad, but little did they know that he was, in truth, an immortal! More than two hundred years old, the son of the alchemist and sorcerer Cagliostro, Tom Cargill was the most powerful magician in the world. When Red Chinese soldiers threatened American lives in Vietnam, Cargill donned a mask and costume to battle evil as the supernatural superhero Magicman! Whether overseas at war or in the homeland against mad scientists and alien invaders from outer space, Magicman used his powers to fight for justice wherever evil and terror reigned!

Before Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, the legendary comic book artist Steve Ditko was conjuring all manners of horrors at his drawing table. In his first two years in the industry (1953 and 1954), Ditko drew tales of macabre suspense that were not yet hobbled by the imminent Comics Code Authority (adopted in October 1954). These stories featured graphic bloodshed, dismemberment and blood-curdling acid baths as the ugly end to the lives of the dark and twisted inhabitants of Steve Ditko’s imagination. Strange Suspense features spectacular full-color reprints of every story from those first two years of his career.

In the second installment of this richly imagined fantasy adventure series, a new threat from within the Library could destroy those who depend upon it the most. The Library of the Unwritten in Hell was saved from total devastation, but hundreds of potential books were destroyed. Former librarian Claire and Brevity the muse feel the loss of those stories, and are trying to adjust to their new roles within the Arcane Wing and Library, respectively. But when the remains of those books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell--and from its own librarians. Claire and Brevity are immediately at odds in their approach to the ink, and the potential power that it represents has not gone unnoticed. When a representative from the Muses Corps arrives at the Library to advise Brevity, the angel Rami and the erstwhile Hero hunt for answers in other realms. The true nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the pen.

The first ongoing horror comics anthology, Adventures into the Unknown! is finally collected into a series of deluxe hardcovers! The pre-Code delights found in this debut volume include inventive, exciting tales like "The Living Ghost," "Kill, Puppets, Kill," "The Affair of Room 1313," and the ongoing "True Ghosts of History" feature—and contributions from Golden Age greats Fred Guardineer, Al Feldstein, Leonard Starr, Edvard Moritz, and others! Adventures into the Unknown! Archives Volume 1 reprints the first four issues of the popular, long-running horror anthology, which ran from 1948 to 1967. * Foreword by Bruce Jones!

The title of this comic is Daredevil Battles Hitler, and that's exactly what he does: on land, air and sea, and he even brings his Silver Streak Comics pals along for the party. This is great Golden Age fun, and if you're inclined to read such material you should check it out.

An astonishing journey through the creation of the seminal role playing epic, officially available in English for the first time ever! This holy grail of Final Fantasy fandom is packed full of original concept art, process pieces, and notes from the original artists and designers chronicling the creation of these timeless games. Dark Horse and Square Enix are thrilled to offer the first of three volumes celebrating the entrancing lore and exciting development of the initial six entries into the Final Fantasy saga. Totaling over three-hundred pages and collected in a high-quality hard-cover binding, Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 1 remains faithful to its original Japanese source material while simultaneously offering unparalleled accessibility for Western readers. No Final Fantasy collection is complete without this beautiful tome of art, lore, and history.

"Flash Gordon's classic era in comic books returns in a new archival collection ... Join the handsome and fearless Flash, his clever and capable companion Dale Arden, and eccentric scientist Dr. Zarkov as they face peril and danger in the wild landscapes of the planet Mongo and go head-to-head with the villainous despot Ming the Merciless! ... Ray guns, spaceships, and Silver Age storytelling - it's all here and it's all action!"--Jacket.

Culled from the artist's extensive private files, every themed volume of this ongoing series features unpublished sketches, preliminary artwork and pieces the artist created for his personal enjoyment. This second volume features rough sketches, unpublished comic pages and partially completed drawings to fully-rendered studies of characters familiar to fans. Each piece exemplifies the exhilarating bravura, sheer vitality and sense of wonder so important to Williamson's work. His body of narrative fiction continues to provide endless inspiration today.

A comprehensive history of a small, but important, comic book publisher, this work reflects the reading tastes of tens of millions of Americans during the Golden and Silver ages of comics (1934-1970). The earlier Sangor Shop reinvented itself as the American Comics Group and by 1967 had published over one thousand issues. ACG was a microcosm of the larger industry, publishing magazines in every major comic book genre. Best known titles include Herbie and Forbidden Worlds. It was ACG's Adventures into the Unknown that sparked a new genre—horror—which led to the Comics Code Authority, and industry-wide self censorship.