posted January 09, 2003 06:03 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
As I've stated before, one of things that has kept us from approach Mac Raboy and Lou Fine's work is the current technology. Without filming, we have to recreate the pages from actual comics and the technology is not yet refined enough to allow to preserve all of their line work. We're optimistic that day is coming, but not yet.

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posted January 09, 2003 09:10 AM               

The Marvel oversized hardcovers are nice enough but right now we have no plans to follow their lead.

Should JO be in color and should it sell well, yes, it might encourage us to consider the rest of the Fourth World stuff. Of course, you guys would rather see it all in Archive form anyway.

I'm asking about the team-ups because from an editorial point of view we're approaching a point where we need to solve those issues. The Legion/Karate Kid issue sparked some of those thoughts. I'd rather canvass the crowd sooner than later. But no, as of now there are no B&B plans.

Only you guys count these books, we have never once kept track so the 100th is likely to come and go without celebration.

We ended the Byrne run of WW trades because they stopped selling, he stopped doing the book and the latter material was not well received by the fans. There's been very little demand.

At Marvel I firmly argued against ads in the trades and would argue against ads, house or paid, here. It's not worth cheapening the package just to add in some ads so we can run every cover full sized. Sorry.

And Vze2, I loved seeing you credit Simon and Kirby with the Bob Commandos. They actually were known as the Bob Squad and served DC Comics faithfully through the 1990s. The membership included Bob Rozakis, Bob LeRose, Bob Kahan, Bob Greenberger and Bob Wayne. Although, when Bob W. joined staff he violated the "Maximum Bob Act". The staff took a vote on renaming him. And no, I won't tell you what the new name was.

posted January 09, 2003 09:50 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
Should JO be in color and should it sell well, yes, it might encourage us to consider the rest of the Fourth World stuff. Of course, you guys would rather see it all in Archive form anyway.

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Not me. I'd rather see the entire Fourth World series in paperback in 2-3 years than slowly wait for everything to be Archived. We can't have everything Archived, and I couldn't afford it even if we could.

quote:

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And Vze2, I loved seeing you credit Simon and Kirby with the Bob Commandos. They actually were known as the Bob Squad and served DC Comics faithfully through the 1990s. The membership included Bob Rozakis, Bob LeRose, Bob Kahan, Bob Greenberger and Bob Wayne.

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I also recall an All-Tim Squad operating on Hawkworld in the early 1990s. The membership included Tim Truman, Tim (Harkins, I think), Tim Bradstreet and my favorite member, Archie "Don't Call Me Tim" Goodwin. Did these two classic Squads ever meet?

posted January 09, 2003 12:16 PM               

A couple things: I think the 100th Archive is a good chance to do some promotion of the line. Maybe let the fans have their pick (or delude them into thinking they have had their pick ) sorta like the Millenium edition reprints? Just a thought. Perhaps not a good one. 100 Archive books is an amazing plateau. Who, when the first Superman and Batman books were put out way back when, would have every thought it would get that far? So perhaps it's a good time for DC to pat themselves on the back for a job well done and make a big deal out of it!

And I love the idea of an Archives companion. Great idea, NI.

Finally, I'm gonna take my thoughts on the Kirby material to the JO thread. Seeya there?

posted January 09, 2003 01:00 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by NecessaryImpurity:
Bob,

Has the Collected Editions Dept. given any thought to celebrating the upcoming 100th Archive? It should be arriving in late '04.

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posted January 09, 2003 01:20 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
...Should JO be in color and should it sell well, yes, it might encourage us to consider the rest of the Fourth World stuff. Of course, you guys would rather see it all in Archive form anyway....

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posted January 09, 2003 01:46 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by GaryUK:
Since the Golden Age Superman was the first Archive, how about making the Silver Age Superman Vol.1 the 100th? Just a thought.

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A nifty idea, but personally, I don't want to wait that long.

quote:

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Originally posted by James Friel:
I'd rather the Jimmy Olsen Archives started with JO #1.
I'd prefer to see the Fourth World material collected as a non-Archive hardcover set like the upcoming Neal Adams Batman stories.

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I'll second that -- SPJO should start with #1, while the Fourth World material should be in an appropriate non-Archive dress. Slipcase or softcover, color or greytone, whichever. It's at the top of my must-avoid list, so I'll let the prospective buyers say how they want it packaged.

posted January 09, 2003 02:33 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
As I've stated before, one of things that has kept us from approach Mac Raboy and Lou Fine's work is the current technology. Without filming, we have to recreate the pages from actual comics and the technology is not yet refined enough to allow to preserve all of their line work. We're optimistic that day is coming, but not yet.

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HOORAY for this!

Much as I love my PLASTIC MAN collected edition, I do see some loss of line quality - not as good as the originals by a country mile, of course, but not nearly as good as an original printing. On Cole's work, the loss is regrettable, but on Fine and Raboy it would be tragic.

I love the work of Lou Fine and Mac Raboy more than any other golden age artists (I think). Much as I yearn to see them collected, I am grateful you'll wait until you can do it right!

posted January 10, 2003 12:33 AM               

Two questions:

1. How likely is a Jonah Hex archive?
2. Any chance of Joe R Landsale and Timothy Truman's second and third Jonah Hex minis being reprinted in trade?

posted January 10, 2003 02:02 AM            

quote:

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We ended the Byrne run of WW trades because they stopped selling, he stopped doing the book and the latter material was not well received by the fans. There's been very little demand.

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posted January 10, 2003 09:14 AM               

Yes, we'll have the 256-page Archive as promised. Sheesh, you think I'd lie to you?

Frank, I was merely addressing a point raised on the thread where someone suggested house ads be used to flesh out a signature to allow all covers be seen full size. My reply addressed only that point. Believe it or not, there is not always a wealth of material to use in terms of sketches nor does every trade merit an intro. In the case of trades that collect storylines, I've opted to use Cast of Characters pages as you will see in a flurry of my first trades coming out this month. That said, I do have some neat sketch material for the next GA collection and JLA: Obsidian Age. And I felt it approrpraite that we set the stage for Hawkman's first trade so Geoff Johns wrote a wonderful piece for me for next month's Endless Flight.

Nope, no plans for either Jonah Hex collection mentioned.

Have a good weekend everyone.

posted January 10, 2003 09:33 AM            

Two questions (the second one's a two-parter):

1. I'm looking at the page count for Comic Cavalcade. What is a good number to leave for non-comic pages. I'm thinking a minimum of 8 ("title page", indica page, 2-page TofC, 2-page intro, 2-page bio). Is this cutting it too close?

2. I've only taken one economics course, and its been a while. In part 1, I want to make sure that I understand your logic. In part 2, I'd like to hear some feedback on my logic.

2a. If I understand you correctly, DC thinks that volume 2 (or whatever) will sell better if the maximum number of people who want volume 1 have already bought it. So each month you keep track of total sales. If you were to graph this, you would have a curve that slopes up but eventually levels off. So, if I understand you correctly, you wait until the curve levels off before you consider publishing the next volume. If the total sales is high enough, you do. In some cases where total sales are extememly high, you might publish the next volume before the curve levels off. Is this right?

2b. I think the above logic makes a lot of sense for long series, like Superman. However, I think it makes less sense for shorter runs. Challengers is a good example. I think there are a lot of people who would like to get "complete" sets. By announcing an intent to release the "complete" set in advance, I think you make a non-negligible increase in the number of buyers for volume 1 and a big increase for volume 2.

If we're talking about 2 volume sets, I think it makes a lot of sense to announce them both, like you did with Challengers and maybe even solicit for both at the same time. I also think it makes sense to release both in one 12-month period.

If we're talking about 3, 4, or 5, I think it makes a lot of sense to release these on an annual basis.

Of course, I'm at a big disadvantage since I don't see the sales figures, so maybe I'm completely wrong.

posted January 10, 2003 09:34 AM               

When THUNDER Agents finishes its run - what are the chances of promoting another title into that slot / format?

That is, printing complete four x 64-page comics in a "fast run" archive.

Either one title three times a year, or three titles annualy, or some other permutation, as the market dictates.

For example, golden age titles such as Flash Comics, Sensation Comics, or (unlikely, I know, but we live in hope) Whiz Comics.

Each of these has had its first issue printed as a Millenium Edition, and of the main character's stories have been reprinted in an Archive already, so initial costs for the first volume would be lower than usual for a Golden Age volume.

Reprinting Flash Comics for instance, would get the Hawkman fans in as well as the "completists". It would also give a reservoir of Hawkman materiel for a future archive.

Whiz comics would get the Fawcett fans in, and maybe raise the profile of some of the lesser known Fawcewtt characters for future projects.

Sensation would give Wildcat an airing, and he is a known character to modern audiences, and might also raise Wonder Woman's profile; and give a reservoir of Wildcat materiel for his own eventual archive.

I have not suggested Detective Comics or Action Comics for this format (at least initially), as I think they only had one main character (or in Detective Comics' case, until about issue #20 none). I have nominated these three titles as they have, as well as a starring main character, strong secondary characters, who lasted through long runs in the titles; I dont know enough about the other "anthology" titles to offer an opinion there, however.

If you are experimenting with smaller-size archives, then a one off un-numbered "All Star Archive" reprinting issues 1 & 2 might be considered; ditto for the first two "Worlds' Fair / Finest" comics.

posted January 10, 2003 11:29 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by NecessaryImpurity:
Bob,

Has the Collected Editions Dept. given any thought to celebrating the upcoming 100th Archive? It should be arriving in late '04.

If that sounds like something to think about, I'd like to suggest an "Archive Companion" of sorts. In particular, I'd like an essay on what is needed to restore art, and an essay on the whole Archive production process, from the time you decide to do it to when it ships for the stores. An index of all the stories and creators for the first hundred volumes would be welcom, too. Maybe fuller bios of everyone? I'm sure there are plenty of other goodies we could think of, that would of interest to Archive Nation.

Again, something to think about.

Thanks!

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posted January 10, 2003 12:40 PM            

"Yes, we're finishing Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run this year."

Thank you very much for the update!! Can't wait to read the last issue.

Two questions: Will DC ever collect the final Garth Ennis story arc (Rake at the Gates of Hell)? Garth's run is the best of the lot, and the trades seem to be selling pretty well, I'm surprised the entire run hasn't been collected. Also, will there be a final Grant Morrison Animal Man collection?

Thanks,

posted January 10, 2003 12:43 PM            

Sorry, one more question: Is there another Doom Patrol archive in the wings?

Thanks again,

posted January 10, 2003 12:45 PM               

I would think the JSA fans would like to buy a TPB of WW #131-134, Hippolyta's first adventure with the JSA.

I think you are reading too much from the WOnder Woman Board as top what Wonder Woman fans want TPB'd.

Byrne's Hippoylta/JSA story could be a best seller....

------------------
Rock a little,

posted January 10, 2003 03:05 PM            

Is this indeed a possibility?
I'd love to see a Kamandi Archive series, or perhaps even a color TPB. (sorry, the B&W Kirby reprints just didn't seem right to me)