Now that Thanksgiving is in the rear view mirror, let’s get a bit more serious with this year’s With Further Ado Gift Guide. I’ve got two beauties to discuss with you this time.

Complete Wally Wood from Witzend
By Wallace Wood and J.D. Spurlock

I’m not sure if this is a labor of love or a masterpiece…or a time machine back to the early days of Underground Comix. Of course, the answer is that it is really all three.

I remember my “first” exposure to Wally Wood was on comics like Captain Action and Daredevil (via reprints in an Annual), and I knew there was something different about the figures and layouts. It grabbed me back then and still has a hold on my all these years later. This book is a quite the treat – for fans who want to flip through the stunning illustrations and for fans who want to wade in – hip deep – into comics history.

Here’s some of the promotional copy from Vanguard:

In making sure Vanguard included ALL Wood from the entire Witzend run plus lots of bonuses, they reached out to EC Comics and the William Gaines estate to get their blessing to including the ULTRA RARE Wood EC story, “Spawn of Venus.”

Originally created for EC’s cancelled EC 3-D Classics #3 (1953), at Wood’s request EC/MAD publisher Bill Gaines gave Wood his blessing to premier the unpublished masterwork in Wood’s Witzend #6 (1969) with touch-ups by Wood to adapt the multi-layered 3-D art to run as traditional 2-D art.

In the decades since Wood premiered the story in Witzend, the layered version ran as color scans in the Wood Artist Edition (IDW). But unlike other stories for EC’s aborted 1953 3-D issue 3, Wood’s “Spawn of Venus” has not run in other EC collections including not in the current Fantagraphics’ series of EC hardcovers. All of which means Wood’s “Spawn of Venus” may still be the rarest EC comic-book story and, it is by EC’s biggest fan-favorite star talent.

EC/Gaines’ blessings were secured so the full story could appear with all the other original Witzend material plus, bonus goodies including other EC-related content (a new essay on Frazetta and Wood, insights into the 1972 EC Convention, etc.), as well as Witzend-related science fiction, fantasy and animation art and more — all bargain-priced in the regular hardcover.

Might I suggest, for the enthusiastic fan, that the Deluxe Slipcased Previews Exclusive edition limited to 750 copies, includes 16 bonus pages comprised overwhelmingly of unpublished works -is the perfect treat?

More from Vanguard:

This is the definitive collection from the creator and publication that inspired the underground comix movement.

Hall of Fame comics creator Wallace Wood’s revolutionary, self-published Witzend (often spelled in all lower case) has always been hard to define—the birth of the pro-zine, underground, independent… Whatever you call it, Wood’s Witzend was a mid-’60s milestone event that represented all of the loftiest Fine Art goals of the Underground Movement including art-for-art’s-sake, freedom from censorship, and creator rights. The vast majority of the underground comix movement creators were directly inspired by the EC Comics and Mad work of Wallace Wood and Harvey Kurtzman (as well as psychedelics). Until R. Crumb’s later and eminently notable Zap Comix, no underground had the impact of Witzend which combined top-flight comics pros like Wood, Frazetta, Steranko and Ditko side-by-side with up-and-coming Undergrounders like Art Spiegelman (Maus) and Vaughn Bode (Cheech Wizard)

Fantagraphics’ Best of Witzend only has 42 pages of Wood — this new ultimate Wood collection has 160 pages of Wood –176 in the DLX Slipcased Previews Exclusive edition! For the first time ever, this single volume collects all of Wood’s own contributions to his groundbreaking publication including Animan, Sally Forth, The Rejects, Bucky Ruckus, Pipsqueek Papers, The Wizard King, Snorky, Lunar Tunes, and more.

Complete Wally Wood from Witzend
by J. D. Spurlock
• Publisher: Vanguard Press
• Hardcover : 160 pages
• ISBN-13 : ‎ 978-1934331910

Superman: The Definitive History

Superman: The Definitive History looks to be a Kryptonian-sized masterpiece. Ed Gross and Bob Greenberger have teamed up to create this one.

The most comprehensive book about Superman ever! From Krypton and Smallville to Metropolis and beyond, explore 85 years of Superman’s history in radio, TV, film, animation, computer games, advertising, merchandise and, of course, comics. Unpublished artwork, exclusive interviews, unique bonus inserts, and little-known facts. Insight Editions, 2024.

I caught up with Ed Gross and had some special WFA Holiday Gift Guide questions for him:

EC: Superman is iconic and clearly means a lot to you. Will he always be your favorite? Why or why not ?

Ed Gross: Considering I discovered the character when I was five — in 1965 — and my passion for him is stronger than it’s ever been, I can safely say that, yes, he will always be my favorite. As to why, beyond the fact I’ve always found him to be the coolest and greatest of superheroes, it’s what he represents that continues to touch me. As cliched as it’s become, he is the beacon of hope in an oftentimes dark and cynical world, offering inspiration to do what you can to help others, even if it’s the smallest gesture. There can be a real-world impact from this fictional character that’s been handed down from generation to generation and obviously will continue to be.

EC: What does the new book offer that other “Super” books have not?

EG: The strength of the book is two-fold. Between Robert Greenberger and myself, we’ve had the opportunity to tell the character’s 86-year history in a depth and through the voices of so many people from comics film and television that few books have been able to feature. It’s also how I feel about my previous book on the subject, the Superman oral history Voices from Krypton. Personally speaking, it means the world to me that I’ve been able to write the definitive unofficial history and co-written the definitive official history. It’s just a rare position for an author to be in.

That and personal plug aside, the other thing that that Superman: The Definitive History has that no other book has ever had, is the full access to DC and Warner Bros’ archives. The illustrations in this book from every aspect of the Man of Steel’s history in every medium he’s been featured in are stunning and unprecedented. This book is huge physically and I can’t imagine any fan being disappointed with its content.

EC: If you were from Krypton, what would your Kryptonese name be?

EG: Sadly, the first thing that popped into my head was Gross-Er. Ouch.

Bonus question: What Kryptonian city would you have lived in?

EG: None, since they were all doomed when the planet exploded. Not my idea of going out with a bang (sorry). Even Argo City only had a slightly extended lifetime. Could I live on Daxam?

Superman: The Definitive History Hardcover
By Edward Gross and Robert
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Insight Editions
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 486 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8886634761

Next week: More from the With Further Ado Gift Guide