You Are the Editor: DC's Alex Toth Omnibus

[Polar Bear]

If DC Comics were to produce an omnibus edition for Toth--or even two volumes, like they have for Ditko--what should they be sure to include in those 500-1000 pages?

Who knows? Maybe a DC reprint editor will see this thread...

Rules:

• The original comic has to be published by DC or a company it acquired;
• It cannot be a licensed property (sorry, Hot Wheels fans); and
• If you can, keep track of page count for your post and as a total (this site or the GCD can help)

That's it! I'll start off:
from Adventure Comics #431, "Is a Snerl Human?" (8 pgs)
from The Adventures of Rex, the Wonder Dog #1-3 (44 pgs, incl. covers)
from Danger Trail #1-5 (42 pgs)
from Batman #442: "Death Flies the Haunted Skies" (11 pgs)
from Sinister House of Secret Love #3, "Bride of the Falcon" (36 pages)
cover, Batman: Black and White #4 (1, just the cover)

This post's page count: 142 pages
Total page count so far: 142 pages

[rarndt]

Shouldn't some of the great war stories that Toth did with Bob Haney or Robert Kanigher in the early 1970s be there--like 'Dirty Job' and others? There's also that great Foreign Legion story he did in the late 1940s or early 1950s that really stands out. Not to mention his Eclipso stories and I recall a story about a kid who goes into a mirror and gets trapped there that was pretty good. Probably from House of Mystery or the like. He also did a lot of westerns that I'd like to see reprinted.

If DC Comics were to produce an omnibus edition for Toth--or even two volumes, like they have for Ditko--what should they be sure to include in those 500-1000 pages?

Who knows? Maybe a DC reprint editor will see this thread...

Rules:

• The original comic has to be published by DC or a company it acquired;
• It cannot be a licensed property (sorry, Hot Wheels fans); and
• If you can, keep track of page count for your post and as a total (this site or the GCD can help)

That's it! I'll start off:
from Adventure Comics #431, "Is a Snerl Human?" (8 pgs)
from The Adventures of Rex, the Wonder Dog #1-3 (44 pgs, incl. covers)
from Danger Trail #1-5 (42 pgs)
from Batman #442: "Death Flies the Haunted Skies" (11 pgs)
from Sinister House of Secret Love #3, "Bride of the Falcon" (36 pages)
cover, Batman: Black and White #4 (1, just the cover)

This post's page count: 142 pages
Total page count so far: 142 pages

[benday-dot]

Shouldn't some of the great war stories that Toth did with Bob Haney or Robert Kanigher in the early 1970s be there--like 'Dirty Job' and others?

Agreed. "Burma Skies" and "White Devil, Yellow Devil" are also musts. I'd also include Young Love's "When Love Has Gone" and a nifty story from Plop! "SSSSPPPPRRRTTTZZZ" or something like that.

[Polar Bear]

Based on your suggestions:

from Our Army at War #235, 241, & 254, "Glory Boys," "Dirty Job," & "The Tally," 18 pgs
from House of Secrets #63-67, Eclipso stories, 63 pgs
from House of Mystery, 8 issues in the 100s, 8 stories, 78 pgs
from Our Fighting Forces #134 and 146, "Soldier's Grave" and "Burma Sky," 15 pgs
from Star Spangled War Stories #164, "White Devil ... Yellow Devil," 8 pgs
from Young Love #73-74, "When Love Has Gone" and "Hide Your Love," 12 pgs
from Plop! #11, "Plop," 5 pgs
from Adventure Comics #418-419, Black Canary stories, 16 pgs
from Adventure Comics Digest #495-497, Challengers of the Unknown stories, 27 pgs
from Batman Adventures #25, pin-up, 1 pg

The foreign legion story you cite, Rarndt, is in Danger Trail #3.

This post's page count: 243 pgs
Total page count: 384 pgs

We're getting close to a decent size. Anyone know much about Johnny Thunder in All-Star Western?

[Reptisaurus!]

The 16 Page Black Canary story from Adventure Comics 418-419 for sure.

I've only read it on line, but FRIGHT! from House of Mystery # 190 had my favorite splash page. 10 Pages.

Hot Wheels is damn near my favorite thing Toth ever did, but we (DC) probably don't own the rights any more. How realistic do I have to be with this. :)

[Polar Bear]

I have the Black Canary stories and the HoM. Hot Wheels is a real pain--if it ever happens, it'd be a licensing deal and a standalone trade or HC (and not necessarily by DC).

I'm calling for realism in the thread solely because I'm actually going to write DC's reprint editors a letter with the items from this thread as the formal request.

[Reptisaurus!]

I have the Black Canary stories and the HoM.

Oh yeah. I didn't read that far down.

Hot Wheels is a real pain--if it ever happens, it'd be a licensing deal and a standalone trade or HC (and not necessarily by DC).

I'm calling for realism in the thread solely because I'm actually going to write DC's reprint editors a letter with the items from this thread as the formal request.

Huh. Fair enough. I don't know enough to offer suggestions, but you should probably stick some Golden Age Green Lantern in there, just because GL is so popular right now.

[Ish Kabbible]

Brave and Bold #53 Atom & Flash teamup-25 pages

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

Of course, by the time this came out, all of Toth's Johnny Thunder would have appeared in its own Omnibus, I'm assuming.

[Polar Bear]

That Atom/Flash B&B story takes us to 409 pgs, which is probably just about what we'd want. I can throw a GL story in there, but I'll have to poke around to see which one (most of what he did there was about GL's dog, Streak).

As to Ear's point, if you took his Johnny Thunder stories, that's 268 pgs. Maybe throw in his 38 pages of Roving Ranger (another western), and you've got just a volume of just over 300 pgs in there. That would rock as its own archive.

[rarndt]

Actually, there should be a half dozen or more shorts that appeared in the 1968-1973 House of Mystery, House of Secrets or Witching Hour [quite a bit there, actually] volumes, all of which were top-notch. There's also his Super-Friends work. You're right in looking at Johnny Thunder as a separate volume.

[Polar Bear]

Adding from Charlton Bullseye #5, The Question story & cover, 9 pgs
from Sensation Comics #107, Jonny Peril in "Queen of the Snows!", 8 pgs
from Green Lantern #37, "Too Many Suspects," 12 pgs

Total is now 438 pgs, still quite reasonable, but not space for a ton more. I'd need a bit more guidance on the horror and Super Friends stories you mention, Rarndt.

[rarndt]

Toth drew intros (some of which were actual full stories) for Witching Hours #1-5, 7, 9-12 (37 pages total)
Eternal Hour! (Witching Hour #1) 8p
The Devil's Doorway (House Of Mystery #182) 11p
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (House of Secrets #83) 7p
Turner's Treasure (House Of Mystery #184) 11p
Look Homeward, Angelo! (Witching Hour #7) 7p
ComputERR (Witching Hour #8) 6p
Mask Of The Red Fox (House Of Mystery #187) 12p
Hold Softly, Hand Of Death! (Witching Hour #10) 11p
The Mark Of The Witch (Witching Hour #11) 9p
Double Edge (Witching Hour #12) 8p
The Prisoner (Weird War Tales #5) 5p
Robot Fightin' Men (Weird War Tales #6) 5p
Anachronism (Weird Western Tales #14) 8p

That help?

Adding from Charlton Bullseye #5, The Question story & cover, 9 pgs
from Sensation Comics #107, Jonny Peril in "Queen of the Snows!", 8 pgs
from Green Lantern #37, "Too Many Suspects," 12 pgs

Total is now 438 pgs, still quite reasonable, but not space for a ton more. I'd need a bit more guidance on the horror and Super Friends stories you mention, Rarndt.

[Polar Bear]

Well, Rarndt, if my math is right (which it may not be), that's 145 pages, bringing the proposed volume to 583 pages, beyond the range of what I think they'd actually print.

Unless they do another volume. (Remember, DC essentially did three volumes for Ditko, the two "omnibus" ones and a separate one for the Creeper. Toth could go the same way...)

[emb021]

Adding from Charlton Bullseye #5, The Question story & cover, 9 pgs.

This story was reprinted in the second Action Heroes Archive.