One I'd like to see is an Archive edition of O'Neil's
THE SHADOW series, and not just the Kaluta issues, but the complete 12-issue run.
1-4 and 6 are illustrated by Kaluta.
5, and 7-9 are illustrated by Frank Robbins.
10-12 are illustrated by E.R Cruz.
And every one of them are good issues.
There was a hardcover published in 1989 of just the Kaluta issues, and I always hoped there'd be a collection of the complete series. But now 30 years have passed and it hasn't happened.
I was looking through my PRIVATE FILES OF THE SHADOW hardcover (1989) of O'Neil/Kaluta stories yesterday, and much as I enjoy it, the 1989 collection suffers from several problems:
1) I'm not wild about the coloring by Lovern Kinzierski. It's not horrible, but I prefer the original coloring.
2) None of the original covers were included, and those are some really exceptional covers worth seeing.
3) O'Neil (or someone, probably O'Neil himself) changed some of the dialogue from the original issues in the new edition. For example, issue 3, page 7, where King Cobra slaps around Margo Lane.
As bonus material I'd like to see the one-shot
SHERLOCK HOLMES issue that has the same O'Neil/Cruz creative team as the last 3 SHADOW issues included. And the SHERLOCK HOLMES issue came out concurrently with SHADOW 12.
And possibly also collecting
JUSTICE INC. 1-4, also scripted by O'Neil, with art by Al McWilliams (1), and Kirby (2-4). Another crimefighting pulp character, who also appeared in THE SHADOW 11.
These would be an interesting companion series, to see how O'Neil handled similar detective and pulp characters, in collaboration with other artists.
I'm surprised to see the 1989 edition selling in the range of $80 to $100. I got my copy in 1999 for less than 20.
