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| Author | Topic: Questions for Bob Greenberger |
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Mike Falcon Member |
posted January 14, 2003 12:12 AM
  
What are the four Hal Jordan/Green Lantern books that are coming out? What are the chances of seeing some G.L. stuff from the 70's or 80's being collected? Is the Wrath of Spectre ever going to be collected in one trade? Thank you Bob! IP: Logged |
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morpheus27@aol.com Member |
posted January 14, 2003 01:32 AM
Dear Mr. Greenberger... I know I run the risk of repeating earlier questions, comments and requests, but I figure it's important enough for me to throw my 2 cents in if it'll help make future trades and collections a reality: Archives Legion vol. 12 is planned, if I read earlier posts correctly. That is great. My question is, God willing, as we move further along into the run, will the oversized tabloid Lightning Lad/Saturn Girl wedding be part of the collection? If I do the math correctly, this should be around Volume 14 or 15. Aren't we overdue for a Flash Archive? Either Flash vol. 4 or Golden Age Flash vol. 2? Doom Patrol, Doom Patrol, Doom Patrol. Need vol. 2 soon. And would it be correct in assuming the 60's material will be collected in 3 volumes? And will the Showcase # 94-96, plus the Superman Family guest appearances in Supergirl be collected as well? There weren't very many appearances by the 70's incarnation of the group, so I'm asking merely for completist's sake. Come to think of it, there was a DC Comics Presents team up as well. All-Star Comics should continue on to collect the 70's run from # 58-74, plus the Adventure Comics run # 461-466, the DC Special # 29 origin story and the Huntress origin. Just wanted to get that off my chest. Golden Age Sandman. Golden Age Hawkman. More Golden Age Starman. Seven Soldiers of Victory. When is Mad Archives vol. 2 scheduled? This year or next? Any plans for an Alex Toth collection? Or a Steve Ditko library? And Jack Kirby. I'm mad for DVD's, especially collector's editions. That's how I'd like to view the archives and other hardcover editions. The Fourth World. 5 volumes, slipcase. The New Gods, The Forever people, Mister Miracle, Jimmy Olsen, The Hunger Dogs. Throw in a retrospective, remarks, commentary by friends, associates, other creators, influences, etc. with The Hunger Dogs collection. Trades The Geoff Johns run on Flash has been fresh and exciting. I'm all in favor of collecting his run, but there's quite a few great stories by Mark Waid, the previous fresh and exciting writer for Flash, that have not been collected. Namely Chain Lightning, and the buildup for it, as well as his concluding story arc. This year perhaps, or next? Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch. "Director's Cut" once the Alan Moore run is done. Want to see the time travel story end the way it was supposed to. Any chance for kitsch collections from each decade? The 60's with The Inferior Five, The Secret Six, etc. The 70's with Prez, Sandman, Kobra, etc. The 80's with Captain Carrot, Mazing Man, etc. New Starman trades planned for this year? Night Force by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. Under-appreciated. Ditto The Question by Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan. DC seems to have a good relationship with Scott McCloud. Any chance they might like to pick up from the fall of Kitchen Sink and reprint Zot! Never did release that 4th volume. Sandman Companion was a novel idea. How about one for Starman, Preacher or Transmetropolitan? Thanks for your time. IP: Logged |
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BearPaws Member |
posted January 14, 2003 02:42 AM
quote: Because Mockingbird's identity wasn't revealed in the original run, Secret Six would have to include the Action Comics Weekly stories (I thought they weren't half-bad). That would be a thick Archive. I'd actually like to have this.
quote: As much as I really, really enjoyed Preacher, I have trouble believing a Preacher Companion would have the same kind of intellectual content. I could be wrong. What the hell, I'd buy it anyway. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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superboy1988-92 Member |
posted January 14, 2003 02:59 AM
quote: To answer your question about which Hal Jordan Green Lantern books are coming out, I think I pretty much know the answer to that one (spare Mr. Greenberger from answering this). If I'm wrong, than Mr. Greenberger can correct me on this.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn, Green Lantern: The Road Back, and Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight have to be the ones all get new editions (as the first printings are long out-of-print now), plus Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II is getting the TPB treatment for the first time. I think these must be the four Hal Jordan GL books being planned. I suspect that DC will not be doing new editions of the GL/GA TPBs since there was that recent hardcover slipcase set just a few years back. IP: Logged |
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superboy1988-92 Member |
posted January 14, 2003 03:00 AM
quote: To answer your question about which Hal Jordan Green Lantern books are coming out, I think I pretty much know the answer to that one (spare Mr. Greenberger from answering this). If I'm wrong, than Mr. Greenberger can correct me on this.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn, Green Lantern: The Road Back, and Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight have to be the ones all get new editions (as the first printings are long out-of-print now), plus Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II is getting the TPB treatment for the first time. I think these must be the four Hal Jordan GL books being planned. I suspect that DC will not be doing new editions of the GL/GA TPBs since there was that recent hardcover slipcase set just a few years back. IP: Logged |
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vze2 Member |
posted January 14, 2003 04:32 AM
As always, Bob G. will correct me if necessary.
quote: When asked about tabloids in general, Bob G. said that he suspects that the only one we'll see would be Legion, so it will probably be Archived. I think its safe to say that anyone who would even consider Karate Kid would think this was essential. Bob also said that an announcement would be made soon about the Karate Kid situation; this affects the actual volume for the tabloid.
quote: Although it might be a Morrison TPB, Bob has said that a new Doom Patrol collection is coming. I think Owen has mapped out 5 Volumes of 60s material, but my memory might be bad. I think its way too early to make a definitive statement on the 70s incarnation.
quote: Personally, I think its pointless to campaign for volume 1 of either Sandman or Hawkman. These are going to happen. I'm predicting both by 2006 (Spectre in 2003, Doctor Fate in the remaining year). I wish they'd finish Starman too, but I think this is a low priority for them. I'm sure Seven Soldiers comes up a lot, but I think its safe to say that All-Star 11 will come out first.
quote: Bob certainly knows more than me, but I'll be shocked if DC has changed its position.
quote: I'll let Bob be the one to say "no", but I think these are very low on the list. In my opinion, Mazing Man and Inferior Five are the most likely.
quote: I think Bob said more are coming, but I don't remember if he said anything definite about 2003.
quote: Still under-appreciated. I suspect we'll see Tomb of Dracula first, although that's out of Bob's hands. As I said, Bob G. will correct if needed. I'm just trying to save him some time. IP: Logged |
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Bob Greenberger Member |
posted January 14, 2003 09:06 AM
Thanks for the time saving answers to some of the above, guys. To clarify: four GL/Hal trades in 2003: Emerald Dawn, Emerald Dawn II, The Road Back and a trade combining Emerald Twlight and New Dawn (issues 48-55 in one place, the baton moves from Hal to Kyle). We do not comment on law suits so when there's something to say re: Siegel, you'll find it on line. Black Canary is considered a finished archive. Surely her more modern appearances need to age a bit before we decided they're worthy of collection (althought he art in the Wolrd's Finest dollar comcis was pretty cool). With Mark Chiarello on staff, the subject of an Alex Toth collection comes up time and again. We'll see. As for Ditko, well, sooner of later we'll do something with his body of Charlton/DC work. Some of us around here have ideas.... Yeah, it does feel like a Flash book is due, just nothing on the schedule as yet. We stopped the Waid Flash collections for much the same reason we stopped the Byrne WW collections: demand shifted from the previous writer/artist to the current writer/artist and we answer to demand. The trades, quite often, are used to support the on-going monthly as people catch on to the heat but can't find the back issues. As for the "kitsch" collections, our decades books for Superman and Batman did only okay business. If our top guns can only do okay, odds are against lesser lights crammed into books from performing well. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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Osgood Peabody Member |
posted January 14, 2003 09:07 AM
Don't know if Owen mapped the DP, but it was discussed at length on this thread: http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum21/HTML/001540.html The original run should take 5 volumes. IP: Logged |
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David Vega Member |
posted January 14, 2003 10:16 AM
First, I have to say, I'm really loving this thread. I'm very grateful for Mr. Greenberger's participation. I'd like to comment on some of the replies to questions. If I come accross as being a bit of a hothead, it's only because I love this damn hobby and only want it (and DC, my favorite publisher) to be successful. "One of the disagreements I had with Bill Jemas was over the speed with which series were to be collected. In my mind, if you could have a trade of an Ultimates arc or the Deadline mini-series within just a few months of the individual comics, it would become an incentive to wait for the trade." >>>Why is this a bad thing? The trade market is obviously growing by leaps and bounds, there seems to be a growing market of trade only readers, so why teaspoon feed this group of readers? Joe Q stated once that he believes the comic buying public can be divided into three groups: Readers who buy monthlies, readers who buy only trades/hardcovers and readers who buy both. I happen to be in the second catagory, but I know alot of people who are in the last. I think DC is neglecting a large group of readers (and missing out on revenue) by waiting so long to release trades/hardcovers. Marvel seems to have a better grasp of the comic buying public, and that is why their collections program is so successful. For the last couple of years, I've been purchasing many many more Marvel collections than DC, and I'm a diehard DC fan from the 70's! But the trickle from DC has not been enough to sate my appetite. "To me (and speaking as me), letting the material age just a bit to help gauge demand works better." "On the other hand, both Fables and Y the Last Man have proven to be surprise critical successes and people have had trouble finding all the issues. Fast-tracking trades for both, as we did with Transmetropolitan, is the right way to go since they support a growing audience for the monthly comics." >>>I picked up the Y trade, not because I had trouble finding the back issues, but because I'd been hearing about how good the series was and my curiosity was piqued. Since I'm a reader and not a collector, I welcome following the story as close to the original release time as possible, I like to stay current. This is striking while interest is still hot, why wait for interest to cool? I mean, who are the collections aimed at? I would assume readers, and readers don't want to wait years between segments. DC's mentality is to use trades as a support for the monthlies, which is fine, but again, there is an audience for the trades as well, don't neglect us. Marvel understands this, and that is why their "fast track" collections sell so well. Letting the material "age" may backfire as you run the risk of readers losing interest (as in the case of the Bryne WW's) or readers growing frustrated with the long wait between books. "On the issue of trades, we do a lot of analysis breaking things down by category (i.e. Superman, Batman, Vertigo, Wildstorm, ABC, DCU, etc.) and comparing number of titles in each category from preceding years. Bob Wayne comes with feedback from retailers while Rich Johnson comes in with feedback from bookstore buyers. Dale and I have prepared a category by category wish list of projects (assembled with editorial input) that exceed the number of slots assumed to be available. Then, lots of us gather around a table and we go through the list. Eventually, we winnow it down based on all the factors above plus our gut-level instincts." >>>What about reader input? Aren't we the ones who ultimately buy this stuff? You have a great resource in these boards, in the comic shops, you can reach your audience almost overnight, but very rarely, if at all, does anyone from DC use the boards for polling or sampling purposes. Apparently, we readers seem to be ahead of the ball (see here: http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum90/HTML/001336.html), use us. "The notion of an Alan Moore Omnibus (or Grant Morrison, or Peter Milligan, etc.) comes up frequently and I wouldn't be surprised to see it finally happen." >>>Good lord, I've been posting, begging for this for almost 4 years! Again, why does it take DC so long? The Alan Moore Omnibus is a no brainer for God's sake. "Strange Sports Stories are fondly remembered for their quirkiness as well as their poor sales." >>>Poor sales? I bet they sold better than the current Superman titles. Dip your toe in the water and find out. "Many of us are anxious for more Doom Patrol but don't misunderstand me. Nothing more is on the schedule as of today." >>>Doesn't this contradict the using trades to support the monthly tactic? I know DP doesen't sell well, but making the older material available (to bridge the history of the current team to the past for new readers) help boost sales? I mean, why use trades to support only successful titles? Isn't that counterproductive? Shouldn't helping flailing series boost sales make more sense? In closing, I want to, again, thank Mr. Greenberger for being so generous with his valuable time. IP: Logged |
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David Vega Member |
posted January 14, 2003 10:22 AM
The above link does not seem to work. I refer anyone who is curious to go to the Vertigo board and look for the topic: DC Wakes up and Smells the Coffee, in the Other Vertigo Topics forum. IP: Logged |
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blisterfairy Member |
posted January 14, 2003 10:49 AM
Mr. Greenberger, Real quick, what about cheap reprints that are fan driven. I really liked the House of Mystery from a year or two ago. I'd like to see stuff like: Bat Lash, Hot Wheels, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, and other obscure stuff I missed out on due to my age ( and expensive back issue prices or limited availability ). I'd buy books on newsprint, how about it? IP: Logged |
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David Vega Member |
posted January 14, 2003 11:18 AM
quote:
IP: Logged |
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Owen Cardiff Darcy Member |
posted January 14, 2003 02:02 PM
quote: I like outpost2's map:
quote: IP: Logged |
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DStepp Member |
posted January 14, 2003 02:21 PM
Bob, Just a quick question for clarification. When I have spoken with your predessors (or similar entities) my understanding was that "on the schedule" meant that a product was sufficiently developed to have a projected release date (at least internally). There were always books that were being worked on for release some months down the line but they were not "on the schedule". From the outside looking in, it becomes obscure as to what DC is not producing relative to what DC is working on but they are not ready to say when it will be released. For example, I gather JLA #8 is on the schedule since you mentioned a spring release. Is Legion #12, which you have admitted development of, on the schedule yet? May we interpret the statement that "Shazam #4 is not on the schedule" to simply mean that, if DC is working on it, they are not ready to make a public admission as the work is not sufficiently complete to make an accurate projection? You seem to have listed a lot of things as "not on the schedule" which means that 2003 will be extremely irregular in it's releases or you are holding your cards close to your vest. Which is it? D. IP: Logged |
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srca1941 Member |
posted January 14, 2003 03:06 PM
Bob, I know you have said that Superboy is currently off the schedule, but will return as soon as possible. I was wondering if you could comment on what specifically is holding the book up? Is it restoration or source material related? If it's source material, what are you missing/don't have good copies of? -Steve ------------------ IP: Logged |
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dylanfan Member |
posted January 14, 2003 03:46 PM
I, too, would love to know the answers to these questions, but I believe Bob suggested a few dozen posts ago that we quit talking/asking about about Superboy for now. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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vze2 Member |
posted January 14, 2003 05:11 PM
quote: I'm definitely not answering for Bob here. This is purely my own opinion, and I would be interested in reading what the rest of you think as well as what Bob thinks. At this time, comics cannot live without monthlies. There are a whole bunch of questions that need to be answered before the monthlies go away. Here's just one of many. If there are no monthies, do you still have a title called Detective Comics? If you do, is it published quarterly at a standard size or irregularly and at varying sizes whenever a story is finished? By keeping the monthlies going, the industry has longer to answer these questions, a greater likelihood of answering them correctly, and a greater chance for a smooth transition (assuming monthlies go away completely). In order to keep the monthlies going, you need a certain number of readers. If everyone waits for the trade, then the monthly dies. Also, DC uses monthly sales to determine the viablity of the collection. I'm sure its not their only criterion, but it is certainly one of them. If everyone knows that a trade is coming in a few months, how can DC distinguish between a comic that no one is buying because they hate it from a comic that everyone loves but isn't selling because everyone is waiting for the trade? IP: Logged |
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SIMPS! Member |
posted January 14, 2003 06:25 PM
Hey Bob, What are the chances of seeing Batman: Year One given the Hardcover treatment a la Dark Knight Returns and Dark Knight Strikes Again with the same type design/trade dress those hardcovers recieved. Granted, the book would be thinner, but Y1 is considered by some to be better than DKR, so it seems natural that it should be presented in such a beautiful format. BENJAMIN SIMPSON IP: Logged |
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fbalkin Member |
posted January 14, 2003 07:09 PM
I think there was a BATMAN: YEAR ONE hardcover, once upon a time. Bob, since the "100 Page Giant faux replica editions have done well, has there been any discussion about reprinting some of the actual 100 Page Super-Spectaculars? Seems like there's a lot of reader interest in these(include me!). Thanks.... IP: Logged |
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superboy1988-92 Member |
posted January 14, 2003 10:46 PM
Batman: Year One did get the hardcover treatment back in the late 1980s, after the Year One arc was first published in Batman issue #'s 404-407. After the hardcover came out, DC later released a trade paperback edition. The original hardcover release is now long out-of-print, but one has to wonder if DC may have plans in the future to do s0, since they put both Dark Knight Returns back as a HC for what, the third time I think? (after the original HC release in the late 1980s, then the 1996 10th anniversary edition HC, and now the new HC edition that just came out with the DKSA sequel) IP: Logged |
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Bob Greenberger Member |
posted January 15, 2003 09:13 AM
The recent Westfield order form had fans selecting between Ultimate DD/Elektra #4 or the trade (adavanced solicited by a month). I'm a fan, I've just invested my bucks in the first three, so now I feel pissed that the trade is already coming out. I buy #4 to have the complete run or I skip #4 and order the trade. Retailers, who bought extras of #1-3 anticipating readers wanting issues they missed, suddenly lose their window of opportunity to sell those back issues because look, here's the trade. That, to me, is a problem. Also, that means you are allocating resources, time and effort to projects with zero idea if the project will be well-received by the fans. Yes, an Ultimate DD/Elektra makes sense. But does Deadline or The Hood? Retailers at the RRP in the fall asked us to accelerate the time between a storyline ends and it is collected. We did a study to see where we were and which series could be accelerated without choking the schedule. Tweaks to the 2003 plan were made. Our goal is not to piss off the retailer nor is it to make the fan feel short-changed. When drafting the schedule, everything quoted above is accurate. When I talk about Dale and my list with editorial input, that of course should mean (although I didn't state it) that we have heard from the fans. Editors hear specific to their titles, we hear it from the macro level. Trust me, fan input is vital. Not every series meets with the sales or criticial success to merit collections to support the monthly efforts. It's a sad fact of life. Which can explain why there are no trades for Spectre, Doom Patrol, Power Company, etc. On the other hand, the DCU and Vertigo are buzzing with anticipation for some of their 2003 releases and our late 2003 schedule has several TBA slots in anticipation that they're right. Anyway, yes, Strange Sports Stories sales from the 1960s beat today's Superan sales. But it's all relative. Their appearances in B&B paled compared to Hawkman, which preceded it. Quickie/cheaper reprints of older materialis an interesting idea but the candidates mentioned don't work. Most of them are licensed materials so the added costs would probably makes these riskier propositions. This is not an open call for ideas, just reality-checking the enthusiasm. And me, I keep putting BAT LASH on the list so one day.... As for what I mean by On or Off the Schedule...well, sure, we have most of 2003 mapped out in trade and all of it in Archive. I am, this week, beginning work on two trades not coming out until October. I am also working on stuff that is scheduled for 2003 but won't announce until we're further along. I'm trying to feed you some info without commiting us to dates since Marketing prefers to control the actual releases info and things do change the further out we go. Look at the BATMAN HUSH DOUBLE FEATURE we just announced. No one anticipated the need for that even a month ago. When I say nothing is on the schedule, such as Shazam Vol. 4, I mean we haven't approved work to begin on it. Sure, it's likely to happen but until we get the green light from the Publisher's Office, it's a waste of time and resources. BATMAN YEAR ONE back in hardcover? Ask and ye shall receive. We almost did a replica of the WORLD'S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES spectacular but realized the core was recently included in the JLA Archives. Some day, maybe. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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dylanfan Member |
posted January 15, 2003 09:29 AM
quote: Yeah, I'll take one of those. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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JeffD Member |
posted January 15, 2003 10:00 AM
YEAR ONE with the same design format by Chip Kidd? Yeah, that'd be cool on my bookshelf...count me in! (and I have the original issues, the paperback and the leatherbound COMPLETE FRANK MILLER BATMAN book!) IP: Logged |
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Michael Bise Member |
posted January 15, 2003 10:04 AM
But, Bob, the most exciting thing about the WORLD'S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES Spectacular is the wrap-around Neal Adams cover! And will THE JSA RETURNS! event from 1999 ever be put into TPB? ------------------ Michael IP: Logged |
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macleanalan Member |
posted January 15, 2003 10:39 AM
quote: Hear, hear. I get annoyed at the speed with which the collections come out at Marvel now as without things like the letters page which made the monthly unique, the only incentive to buy the monthly nowadays is that it comes out first, and due to it being available in installments, costs less at a time and can be used as a taster to test if I actually like a series. With a mini like The Truth, now expanded to 7 issues at $3.50 each (or £2.60 to me) I will be spending $24.50 (or £18.20) and will no doubt find that a week later, the hardcover or TPB will come out, both with improved design values, the hardcover costing a little more than I originally paid and the TPB costing much less. It may please the fans who have waited but it doesn't impress people like me, the ones who have actually pay the costs of producing the comics in the first place by supporting monthlies, who haven't waited. What I do approve of at Marvel is: a) good design values at a reasonable price while DC, in my opinion, have been reducing their design values to keep costs down (like on Starman or Preacher) unless they think a series can justify it (like the change in The Authority paper). b) Cheap, oversized hardcovers that look amazing and are very well produced. I was tempted BEFORE they dropped their prices, now I can't help myself. I buy many more DC titles than Marvel so I would like to see a similar scheme here. The only thing I have left to add is that I would love to see a second volume of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol. I have the first one and I think a second trade collectiong issues 26-34 would be wonderful and great value since it collects some of the best stuff in the series and issues that are particularly hard to get hold of nowadays (I'm still trying to find them). I was also informed that pages were cut out of the first trade as they led into the following storyline so I would like to see those also. Thanks for your time. IP: Logged |
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