Bookshelf Essentials

In 2002, the publishing giant known as TwoMorrows Books brought you the acclaimed (by not only them but me, as well) collection, Comic Books and Other Necessities of Life, a must-have paperback full of articles by Yours Truly. In it, I tackled such vital issues of the day as my old comic book club, The Comics Code, crooked model kits and Carl Barks.

In 2003, TwoMorrows yielded to popular demand and released a second collection of my columns. We called this one Wertham Was Right and it included deathless articles about Charles Schulz, Bob Kane, The Fox and the Crow, and why Wertham was and wasn't right.

Then, in 2004, TwoMorrows bowed to the inevitable and brought forth what was surely the third of these volumes, Superheroes In My Pants, which featured the lowdown on unfinanced entrepreneurs, cheap comic book fans, bad convention panels and Julius Schwartz. Another bookshelf essential.

And now, in 2005, I am pleased to announce…no book. Not this year. To have the next collection out for this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, I'd have to be prepping and editing it about now, and I'm swamped with other work. So I've decided to delay Volume 4 in the series until 2006, and I thought I'd post this to answer the questions I'm getting about when it'll be out, what it will be called and what will be in it. Answers: Next year, I dunno and I dunno — in that order. But I thank you all for your inquiries and interest…and we will get around to more.