Coyote

Volume 1 (Coyote OGN [originally serialized in Eclipse Monthly] + Scorpio Rose 1-2 and unfinished issue 3); w Steve Englehart; a Marshall Rogers & Tom Palmer). [From Image Comics: Hot on the heels of their successful reuniting for DC's Dark Detective series, Englehart and Rogers present more of their classic, groundbreaking work. This collection includes the rare 60-page origin story of Coyote, unseen for twenty years ‹ plus the three-part origin series of Scorpio Rose. Yes, three-part... because we're throwing in the legendary unpublished third issue, in the synopsis and layout form it reached before vanishing like a gypsy witch. It's 128 pages of Englehart's greatest creations and Rogers' greatest art (with Tom Palmer adding his skills to Scorpio Rose).]

Volume 2 (1-4; w Steve Englehart; a Steve Leialoha, Butch Guice, Chaz Truog, Bob Wiacek). [From Image Comics: The story of Coyote moves forward fast, as the son of the totem gets past his heartbreak by moving into a swinging singles complex in Las Vegas. Revenge scents in the desert air as he gets a job, working for the mob, which works for the Shadow Cabinet. And he has his first run-in with the Djinn, a Middle eastern crime lord we'll see plenty more of. But best of all, he meets two sisters who will change his life in ways even the Trickster could never imagine.]

Volume 3 (5-8; w Steve Englehart; a Chaz Truog & Bob Wiacek, Steve Ditko & Steve Leialoha). [From Image Comics: Coyote's wormed his way deep into the Shadow Cabinet, and things are going so good that a Trickster just knows things have to go bad. What he thought was deep is barely scratching the surface, though, and by the time this latest adventure is are over, he's raced the ghost of James Dean, fought the legendary X-Caliber, spooked the Dark Cardinal and had half his brain removed by a Venusian. (Allegedly!) And he doesn't even know that the Djinn is having his own adventure, drawn by Spider-Man co-creator and comics legend STEVE DITKO in a series devised especially for the pasha of paranoia.] Book of the Week 4/19/06: At the height of his popularity in the 1970s, Steve Englehart walked away from comics. When he returned a few years later, he joined the burgeoning creator-owned movement, and Coyote was his first. This goofy, charming series about a naïve trickster god in the Nevada desert was a pioneer not only as a creator-owned comic, but also as the first (pre-dating Grant Morrison's Animal Man by several years) to have environmental concerns at the heart of the book. This volume, reprinting issues 5-8 of the Epic Comics series, also contains the first episodes of a back-up story specifically created to be drawn by comics legend Steve Ditko. The 80s were a pivotal moment in the development of comics, and I'm glad to see so many of those great series getting new collections recently.

Volume 4 (9-12?; w Steve Englehart; a Chaz Truog, Steve Ditko, Todd McFarlane, Frank Springer, Art Nichols, Richard Howell). [From Image Comics: Women have always been a delight for Coyote (even if they tried to kill him) but he's never met anyone like Slash, who can kill with a look. Still, look who's drawing her origin: TODD McFARLANE, in his first-ever published work. Todd's also on board for the start of a new SCORPIO ROSE series, right beside STEVE DITKO with the whirlwind finale of THE DJINN and CHAZ TROUG!]

Volume 5 (13-16; w Steve Englehart; a Chaz Truog, Todd McFarlane, Frank Springer, Art Nichols). [From Image Comics: As the original Coyote saga wraps up, Scorpio Rose and the Djinn join the main story, and so does the Badger, and so does Ronald Reagan - and so does everyone from the Venusians to the hooker to Halfdome as Englehart stages one of his patented "everybody into the pool: finales and liberates Russia. But underneath all that, there's actually two love stories, as Coyote charms both women who wanted to kill him into willing members of a threesome. Plus: the final two chapters of Scorpio by Todd McFarlane, finishing off his first-ever series and turning into "Todd McFarlane" right before your eyes!]