None of Marvel's sensational 1970s Shang-Chi, The Master of Kung Fu -- perhaps the finest martial arts comic ever produced -- appears in book form, mostly due to rights issues with the Sax Rohmer estate. Under the auspices of the comic book license to the original pulp stories, the series related the adventures of Shang-Chi, the son of the villainous Fu Manchu, and featured several characters from Rohmer's tales (most notably the "yellow peril" villain himself and Sir Denis Nayland Smith). The series achieved its artistic pinnacle in the mid-1970s during a 29-issue collaboration of writer Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy.

Another Marvel creation mired in rights limbo, the Micronauts, based on the 1970s toys, enjoyed three different series incarnations from 1979 to 1986 -- Micronauts (59 issues which included the acclaimed Michael Golden-illustrated adventures plus two annuals), The X-Men and the Micronauts (four issue limited series), and Micronauts: New Voyages (20 issues). The characters remain very popular (Image and Devil's Due produced series in the 2000s), yet none of the Marvel stories appear in book form.

Though DC offers five hardcover archival collections of the original Fawcett Captain Marvel and family (Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel, Jr., etc.) stories, the most famous Marvel adventure remains uncollected in a currently available edition. "The Monster Society of Evil" story arc ran for two years in Captain Marvel Adventures #22-46 (1943–1945). Each issue showcased a confrontation between a member of Mr. Mind's evil society. In the manner of the serials, each story ends in a cliffhanger. One of the earliest epic long comic book storylines, "The Monster Society of Evil" presaged the lengthy tales of the forthcoming decades. American Nostalgia Library issued the entire run in an oversized, slipcase limited hardcover in 1989. In 2008, DC announced an affordable hardcover edition of the long out-of-print story. Amid rumors that the company feared being labeled as racists, the book recently ceased appearing on DC's forthcoming schedule.

Created in 1972 by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga (All Star Western #10), the hideously scarred, hardnosed Western bounty hunter Jonah Hex currently enjoys an unprecedented success with a popular DC series, a feature film, and an animated short film, slated to appear alongside the direct-to-DVD animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood. Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex offers all the well-crafted, dark Albano tales with art by DeZuniga, Doug Wildey, and José Luís Garcia-López. By this fall, nine books collecting the first 54 issues of the current series, written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti and contributions by an impressive array of illustrators including Luke Ross, DeZuniga, Phil Noto, Paul Gulacy, Jordi Bernet, Val Semeik, Russ Heath, Giuseppe Camuncoli, John Higgins, Darwyn Cooke, and J.H. Williams III, will exist.

Of all the major Jonah Hex storylines, only the critically acclaimed three mini-series, created by the dynamic duo of writer Joe R. Lansdale and Timothy Truman -- during this period, they also produced a controversial Lone Ranger & Tonto mini-series that attracted the ire of Rush Limbaugh -- need to be collected. The pair's first attempt, Jonah Hex: Two Gun-Mojo (1993), introduced supernatural elements to the Hex mythos, as the former Confederate soldier encountered zombies. The popular series garnered a prestigious Bram Stoker Award and a single volume compilation, now long out of print. The second series, Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such (1995), proved just as popular as Hex challenged a Cthulhoid monster and oddities such as the half-human/half-worm Autumn Brothers. The latter a progenitor to a lawsuit by musicians Johnny and Edgar Winter against Lansdale, Truman, and DC Comics for defamation of character that reached the California Supreme Court. Displayed with very light complexions and long white hair, the Autumn Brothers bear a similar appearance to the albino Winter Brothers. Ultimately, after seven years of litigation, the CA Supreme Court ruled that the depiction, clearly a parody, fell under 1st Amendment protections of free speech. All this hullabaloo didn't prevent the publication of a third well-received Lansdale-Truman collaboration, Jonah Hex: Shadows West (1999). Neither Worms nor Shadows have ever been collected.

Countless other quality titles remain uncollected. Largely forgotten but exceptional 1980s black & white series such as Tom Stazer's Spaced, Doug Potter's Denizens of Deep City, and the bizarre anthology Commies From Mars; complete runs of Golden Age great Lou Fine's The Ray, Black Condor, and Doll Man; as well as Doug Rice's giant robot Dynamo Joe, Steven Grant's groundbreaking female ninja series Whisper, and Rich Rice's profound Bob the Alien all deserve to be rediscovered.