Marvel Comic Book Library Vol. 1 Description:

A motherlode of comic history, Marvel Comic Book Library Vol. 1 captures the first 10 issues of 10 classic comic books on one unbelievably priced CD-ROM. Most are from Marvel's Golden Age in the 1960s--Spider-Man, Hulk, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Captain America, the Avengers, the Sub-Mariner, Iron Man, and Silver Surfer. The exception is the X-Men, who were also created in the 1960s but are represented here by the 1970s incarnation that soon became the hottest property in comics with the introduction of such characters as Wolverine, Colossus, and Storm (their 10-issue sampling begins appropriately with Giant-Size X-Men #1). And with that same exception, all the series were written by Stan Lee, most often with art by Jack Kirby but with other Marvel Bullpen denizens such as Steve Ditko and Wally Wood. Navigation is easy, with a main character menu followed by cover thumbnails. (Minor quibble: the main menu uses more modern art, for example, the John Byrne Fantastic Four.) Some other points of clarification: the Captain America stories are from his solo series in Tales of Suspense (issues 59-68), which he shared with Iron Man. Those Iron Man stories, however, are not included here, and Tony Stark's alter ego is represented by his initial appearances in Tales of Suspense 39-48. Similarly, the Sub-Mariner is represented by his solo run in Tales to Astonish (issues 70-79), which he shared with Hulk, who is represented instead by the first six issues of his own book then four stories (issues 60-63) from Tales to Astonish. And the Silver Surfer's issues are from his solo series rather than his initial appearance in Fantastic Four. Marvel Comic Book Library Vol. 1 is an excellent deal. If you were to buy these same issues in book form, in color, you'd want the Marvel Masterworks series at $30-$50 per 10-issue book. The downside is that these classic comics have a high comfort-food factor, and even non-Luddites would probably agree that it's more fun to curl up on the couch with a physical book than to sit down at your PC. (OK, you could curl up with your laptop if you really want to.) But this is an easy and affordable way to sample what you want, then pick up must-haves later. Now we just need a volume 2, with the original X-Men, Thor, Doctor Strange.... --David Horiuchi Pros:

• A generous, convenient, and good-looking compilation of classic comic books
• Very affordable
• Sensible navigation

• Just the relatively sterile computer presentation