World Famous Comics: The Near Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus
The Near Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus
By: Fred Hembeck Publisher: Image Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Image Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 900 Publication Date: June 11, 2008
Product Description: The Near Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus is a massive collection covering cartoonist Fred Hembeck's past three decades of work. All seven of his early eighties collections - Bah, Hembeck, The Hembeck Files, et al - are included, as well as rarely seen strips, personal commissions, online pieces, holiday cards, assorted oddities, and over a dozen stories ranging up to ten pages in length! A massive collection featuring the superhero industry's most revered humorist! Foreword by industry legend and creator of Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four, Stan Lee!
Comics have received much more critical attention in the past few decades with worthy works like, MAUS, WATCHMEN, and AMERICAN SPLENDOR all being critically admired. But where's the love for the comics like Superboy, Herbie, and Jimmy Olsen? You'll find that love and gentle critiques hilariously presented here by Fred Hembeck, one of comic's true originals. Using his cartoon alter-ego, Hembeck has presented his love and knowledge of comics in a variety of different formats and outlets collected here in this massive book. Starting off with his autobiographical "Little Freddie" cartoons this book puts together most of Hembeck's work. The best section in my opinion is the collecting of his entire Dateline@!!?# books in one convenient package. These strips were Hembeck at his most focused and his art was detailed and expressive. But basically it was an exceptionally funny and affectionate portrait of the comics of the 50's and sixties. Obscure characters like "Iron Jaw" could be found alongside Superman (who had been transformed into a shark by Hembeck's "Grey" kryptonite-Starting to see how surreal this is?) and it all ties together. OK I'm gushing here, but if you love comics and you haven't picked this up you are cheating yourself out of a lot of laughs and some real insight. So why not give it 5 stars? Well there is a problem. I guess the decision was made to get everything here at an affordable price, so quality was sacrificed. Printed on paper slightly better than your average phone book, there are sections that are illegible particularly in the latter sections of the book where the type becomes very compressed. Also Fred's classic destruction of the Marvel Universe was not available and the loss is felt. I love to revisit Hembeck's work and I just don't think this will hold up. But, that being said, I am very glad it became available and I have enjoyed looking back at comics with Fred Hembeck as my guide as much as I enjoyed reading these books in my youth. Thanks, Fred!
Hembeck Rules One thing I have to say first...Hembeck Rules
NOW There are only two problems I have with this 900 page volume of strip reprints. Problem one is this book does not include such books like Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe #1 July 1989, Fred Hembeck Sells the Marvel Universe #1 October 1990, The Spiderman book Fred did for Marvel and DC books as well. Problem two is the book is the size of the Manhattan phone book, so it is hard to carry around on long travel trip and takes up too much shelve space! ..OTHERWISE, I would not change a thing
This collection is a love song to comics and animation. This overstuffed volume reprints the seven books Hembeck did for Fantaco, The Dateline stuff from the Comic Buyers Guide and assorted other ideas and stories he has done over the years. His knowledge of Comic and media is an amazing feat. He acts like a comic pro in a fan's body. His encloypedic memory of comics long gone by as well as modern comics is a tresure why he has had a career for over 30 Years. And his Hembeck show should be revised and put in comics today for every comic fans to enjoy. I would think he would have much to poke fun at (the Fantastic Four Movie, Captain America's death, The anime style of Archies and even The Dark Knight)
He peppers his comic and media knowledge with a satire slap and a wicked wit unseen in a medium which needs a good poking every once and a while. He is the comic;s toastmaster general in my humble opinion. His love of comics, the artists and their work is one of those special gifts he shares with every comic he talks about or industry person poke or kids with. You cant hate his wit, just makes you want to get the books he pokes fun at.
With a short Intro by Stan "The Man" Lee (I say the greatest comic writer in the business), he makes the reader have another Merry Marvel Marching Society drive with his Stan's Soapbox. Stan himself did a FRED HEMBECK a year or so ago when he appears with a few of his own characters Stan Lee Meets the Marvel Universe, The Afterward by editor Al Gordon is a tribute to Hembeck appeal to a mass audience
Those fans of the DC Showcase books, the comic mini series Fanboy, or Marvel Essential volumes should be truly at home with this black and white strip reprint collection. Fred, I have a few Comic Buyer Guide strips pages of your work framed on my wall... nothing is changed. It is like a TIME WARP...So Lets do the Time Warp again!
For those on My space, look up Mr Hembeck and tell his you read my review! I will tell him myself one day, I hope it will make him smile
Many older comic book fans (Hell I am almost 50) will love being younger fanboys again when reading these Hembeck's strips. So Fred, PLEASE tell Marvel and DC to cough up the old books you did with them and get Image publishing to help you get another volume out!
With a pardon to Stan, EXCELSIOR FRED! Bennet Pomerantz Audioworld (Note you can view me on MY SPACE too)
For The Love Of Hembeck!!!! WHAT A BOOK!! This massive tome is a Fred Hembeck fan's (And there are many of us from the looks of it)dream! It took me years to track down all the Hembeck magazines that came out in the late 1970's and early 1980's, but now I have them all in this fantastic volume with TONS of extras! Much like Keith Giffen's AMBUSH BUG, either you "get" Fred or you don't. To me he is one of the funniest and most insightful cartoonists working today. His free conscience rants and knowledge of comic book history are a wonder to behold! I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes "funny" in their funny books!
"Are you done in there?"- various family members Herein lies the greatest reason to disappear into the bathroom for hours at a time.
Be sure you have good lighting as the lettering is tiny and, as stated elsewhere, the printing not so good. Nonetheless, it takes one back to the smeary-inked world of comic books on newsprint, purchased from a spinner rack, as endlessly memorialized by the always amusing Fred Hembeck. He's like everyone's pal with a good collection and bottomless knowledge. Bravo!
Humongous Hembeck If the name Fred Hembeck means anything to you, then you were probably reading comics in the `70s and `80s, when his signature depictions of nearly every hero and villain were everywhere, from mainstream books to fanzines. THE NEAR COMPLETE ESSENTIAL HEMBECK ARCHIVES OMNIBUS (what a title!) is a truly colossal and truly affordable collection of his works, including his complete Fantaco books, random strips, commissions, and personal pieces. As you no doubt can tell from the other reviews, none of his paid work for major publishers is collected here, meaning no material from The Fantastic Four Roast, Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe, Marvel Age, or others. But don't fret - there's still enough material for 900 pages, and you will still see just about any character you can think of, whether they be mainstream, independents, extremely obscure Silver-Agers, or even Herbie Popnecker! While Hembeck may be more famous for his humorous pieces, the strips collected here often dip into very educational commentaries on 50 years of comic history, told through his eyes. The man loves comics, and it shows.
It's important to note that while the original collections were oversized, this book is in a more manageable 8 x 10" format, which leads to the text being much smaller than what your eyes may find comfortable. Some pages are packed full of very small text that doesn't read well, so I had to take a break here and there to let my vision readjust (he even recommends this in the introduction). There were a few pages that were very difficult to read (even approaching illegibility), so some sharpening of the resolution could have worked wonders, but when you're working in this format and type of paper, I guess it's unavoidable. Still, this is an excellent value for a collection of this magnitude, and it will leave you with a better understanding of comics.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
