The Four Color Media Monitor

Joseph Szadkowski reviews a couple of trade paperbacks, including North Country, Superman: For Tomorrow, Serenity, and Secrets of the Swamp Thing. And on the latter, which is a pocket-sized compilation of the first 10 issues of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson from the first volume in the 1970s, here's what he has to say:

Basically, I want my comic art big -- OK? I want to lay it out in my back yard, climb a tree and still be able to appreciate it. I want to savor it. I want to be overwhelmed by it. That will never happen trying to read a 5-by-7-inch book offering the first, fantastic 10 issues of the Swamp Thing, written by Len Wein and drawn by one of the kings of horror art, Bernie Wrightson.

Having to use a magnifying glass to relive Mr. Wrightson's detailed brilliance is just not my idea of a satisfying art experience.

Well, I guess that's understandable, and I'll admit that even I sometimes have trouble embracing the pocket format myself, since even I like to have it easy to read. But at the same time, if it gives people a chance to obtain these kind of books without their being too expensive, I'll have to admit that it could have something to it.

Nevertheless, I do understand how he feels about this.