posted November 22, 2002 11:15 AM               

Is the Namor..Tales Masterwork worth getting?

Does it have Colan art...Is the art crisp..paper quality, etc?

posted November 22, 2002 02:03 PM               

Yeah, that's because DC was careful about keeping stats and/or negatives of the art from about 1960-up. This explains why their JLA and LEGION Archives look like they were shot off the original art, even if they weren't. (Material from the 1930s-50s is a bit more of a problem, but under the circumstances, those books don't look bad, either-- although in the case of Golden Age books, I'd almost rather the reprinted them BIGGER, at the size of the original comics, which were bigger back then!)

Marvel, on the other hand, has never been good at maintaining any kind of reasonable filing system for their stats, negatives, etc., and as a result, their reprints have ALWAYS looked shoddy-- even the ones they were doing in the late 1960s (when they still had the original artwork in their possession!!).

posted November 22, 2002 05:38 PM               

The paper was originally a bit rippled, but has straightened itself out after sitting on my bookshelf these past few months. The coloring is a bit too "vivid" and the cover reproductions have a jarring deep black framing. However, its not so distracting that I wouldn't recommend it.

posted January 08, 2003 02:48 PM            

Concerning Marvel's plan to put everything back into print at once, I wrote this on dylanfan's board:

quote:

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Originally posted at The Marvel Masterworks Message Board
I still don't see how this is feasible, to put everything back into print at once. There is certain fixed overhead that occurs to print a book, whether it is one copy or a million. Obviously, the more copies you print, the more you can spread that fixed cost out.

Let's assume that Marvel needs to make a press run of 1000 copies of each new Masterwork to make the cost of printing feasible. Marvel suddenly has an inventory of over 25,000 (maybe 33,000) books! Now that inventory needs to be reduced by getting it out to the retailers. If each comic shop bought just one copy of each, they suddenly have 25-33 books they need to find shelf space for. Plus, assuming it cost the retailer $25 per copy, they've got $625 of operating capital tied up, probably for months. That $625 may not sound like much, but that's 121 hours at minimum wage. Likely, that's a clerk's pay for 2 weeks.

What will happen: stores will take around 5-10 volumes for display purposes. If they move, they will reorder, maybe getting a couple of new volumes. Over the space of a year or two, they'll bring their Masterworks selections up to the same level as their Archive selections. Meanwhile, Marvel has invested all this money and still hasn't seen a return. Beancounters panic and pull the plug. Masterworks, Mark IV fails.

What should happen: modify the original Mark III plan. In the first year issue only Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and new #1 Masterworks. In Year Two, finish the existing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four volumes, add new ones to both lines, add new #1s. In Year Three, issue new Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, some new #2s to previous new #1s, get the X-Men and Avengers back in print, and add new #1s. In Year Four, get as many of the one and two volume Masterworks into print as possible, adding volumes to the already back-in-print lines. In Year Five, finish the back-to-print project and continue to issue new volumes.

The plan above gets the big sellers (Spider-Man, FF, X-Men, Avengers) into print sequentially first, letting new volumes of those series be added quickly. New lines of Masterworks are also added, expanding the range and scope of the line. Once the high-priority lines have been reprinted (and added to), the smaller lines get their turn. In about 5 years, the Masterworks program gradually builds up to a full library again, and comes close to doubling in the process. The retailers' concerns about selling Volume 6 when Volumes 2-5 aren't available is eliminated. What this plan lacks in variety early on, it makes up for in depth.

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posted January 09, 2003 02:47 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by jape:
The bookstore sector has huge possibilities for Marvel (and DC) if they approach it properly.

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The bookstores need to market them correctly too, and I'm not sure they're on the ball in that department.

My biggest doubt is the $50 price tag on Masterworks and Archives. That's alot for Joe Sweatsock to pay simply because he just saw the X-Men movie last night.

There's a part of me that wants every bookstore out there to move their "graphic novels" section out of science fiction and fantasy and put it right next to the art section. In fact, I think it's fibbing or wishful thinking to consider these books sci-fi; being books of full-color illustrated work, they're (from a production perspective) much closer to being art and graphic design books than "novels." Having $50 Archives next to $7 Star Trek novels makes some think they're getting ripped off. Having them next to other $50 art books suggests to the average customer a better idea of what they're really getting in terms of art reproduction and printing. It is, I think, a worthy experiment at least.

posted January 09, 2003 04:38 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dylanfan:
Most of the bookcases I see them in at Borders, Media Play, B+N, etc. have a little "Graphic Novel" sign on top. They are in the vicinity of sci-fi books and the like, but they are their own category.

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True. But my point is that marketing a smallish book like an archive right next to other books that cost $7-20 creates the illusion that an archive is not a good value.

And for all the sci-fi fans I know who might be inclined to pick up a graphic novel, I also know artists, historians, and graphic designers who are likewise interested for different reasons. I have a theory that perhaps they're more likely to venture the $50, because they are accustomed to dealing with specialty and art books that cost more to develop, publish, and distribute. This would be a very different mindset than the casual browser of mass market science fiction. I don't necessarily advocate taking comic collections totally out of the sci-fi departments, but I do think marketing only to this audience is a sort of tunnel-vision. There's untapped potential among other readers, and (in my opinion) room for more cross-promotion than anyone in the bookstore world is even thinking about doing.

That said, I'm far from being a business major -- it could very well be a bad idea. In fact my background is in art history and design and I buy many related books, so I'm trying to give that perspective on customer interest, price, and value. I think it's one that is untried in the marketplace, but could prove to have significant potential.

posted January 09, 2003 04:45 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by DWM:
True. But my point is that marketing a smallish book like an archive right next to other books that cost $7-20 creates the illusion that an archive is not a good value.

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And by other $7-20 books, I mean items in the sci-fi section proper: the 200 Star Trek and Buffy novels for instance. That wasn't clear and maybe would seem to suggest marketing only the upscale books to other readers. There is a great deal of worthwhile modern material (super hero and otherwise) that is of interest to other readers too.

posted January 09, 2003 05:55 PM            

If bookstores want to maximize sales among the CURRENT reader base, then it makes sense to put the comics here. However, if they want to INCREASE the user base, they should put it next to the books on tape section. Comics is an example of a medium; super-heroes is an example of a genre.

Having said that, I've been in book stores where the books on tape are next to sci-fi.

In my opinion, if we really want to gain acceptance from the mainstream, we need more books like George Pratt's Enemy Ace.
1. It looks like a book. A real book, not a Garfield collection.
2. The art looks like it could hang in a real art museum (it probably does).
3. The text looks like it belongs in a real book, not a children's book.
4. No super-heroes. 90% of the mainstream audience would never know that Enemy Ace actually appeared in a traditional comic book.

posted January 15, 2003 10:07 PM               

On the face of it, Hulk is solicited with 31 to go.

However ... as it appears that they're sticking with the 3rd trade dress, theres no need to redo the relatively recent Spider Man volumes 1 and 2 and i believe there might be an X Man (either vol 1 or vol 2) done in the 3rd dress.

So 28 outstanding (unless i've missed any)with spiderman volume 3 the next Spidey one.

posted January 16, 2003 09:36 AM               

I have two copies of Marvel Masterwork Vol 1. I notice that the the order of text on the spine of the first print is as follows.

Top Spider-Man
Middle Vol 1
Bottom Marvel Masterworks

The order on the second print is as follows

Top Marvel Masterworks
Middle Vol 1
Bottom Spider Man

I know that first and second printings of volume two are like this as well.

I also know that first printings of volume five through volume twenty-seven are as follows.

Top Marvel Masterworks
Middle Vol X
Bottom Character Name

Can anyone tell me the order on their first printings of volume three and volume four? Can anyone tell me the order on their second printings of volume three and volume four? I am most interested in the order on a first printing of volume four.

Please pardon my obsessive-compulsiveness, and thanks for any help.

Best Regards,

posted January 16, 2003 03:25 PM               

Volume 3, since it came out in a group with volumes 1 and 2, follws the same pattern:
Top--X-Men
Middle-vol.3
Bottom-Marvel Masterworks

Volume 4 follows the same pattern as volumes 5 onward:
Top-Marvel Masterworks
Middle-vol.4
Bottom-Avengers

posted January 16, 2003 05:54 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by James Friel:
I have firsts of volumes 3 and 4.

Volume 3, since it came out in a group with volumes 1 and 2, follws the same pattern:
Top--X-Men
Middle-vol.3
Bottom-Marvel Masterworks

Volume 4 follows the same pattern as volumes 5 onward:
Top-Marvel Masterworks
Middle-vol.4
Bottom-Avengers

I'm wondering if extra marbled dustjackets will be made available for those volumes that have appeared so far only in the second trade dress. I'm happy owning first printings, but I'm just anal enough to want to put uniform wraps on them....

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Thank you! This has always bugged me (which edition switched dustjackets).

I don't think that it's asking too much for a uniform trade dress on an upscale reprint series. The series looks odd on the bookshelf with 1-27 in the original, 28-31 in the Comicraft, and 32 in the new style.

posted January 16, 2003 05:59 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dylanfan:
If they were to put out the marble DJs for book that never had them in the first place, they'd also want to continue with the numbering of the series, which seems a little odd at this juncture. Which book would be Vol. 28? The sixth FF book?

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28 - FF 51-60 Ann 4
29 - DD 12-21
30 - Thor Journey Into Mystery 111-120 Ann 1
31 - X-Men 22-31
32 - Sub-Mariner FF 4, Tales To Astonish 70-85
33 - should have been the aborted Iron Man Tales Of Suspense 51-65

posted January 17, 2003 12:19 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by davidbstewart:
[B...The series looks odd on the bookshelf with 1-27 in the original, 28-31 in the Comicraft, and 32 in the new style.

[/B]

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posted January 17, 2003 07:40 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by James Friel:
Yes--it looked odd enough to me that I broke the Masterworks up and integrated them by title with the other Marvel hardcovers and trade paperbacks. Now it looks fine again.

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I know that this will never happen, but I'll mention it anyway. Perhaps Marvel could solicit a dustjacket only set, new style (whatever style, just so long as I can get a uniform trade dress) dustjackets for the first 31 Masterworks. Not gonna happen, but the thought has crossed my mind.