posted November 01, 2002 08:58 AM               

On the issue of trades, we're currently collecting: JLA, JSA, Flash (Johns/Kolins), GL (Winnick), WW (Jimenez), BOP, Nightwing, Transmetropolitan, American Century, Fables, and Lucifer. We're doing story arcs from Superman and yes, just the Batman corssover stories. That's not bad and there will be more added to the list.

That being said, the ability to add more series such as the ones already mentioned gets tougher. We want the room in our schedule to do our back to Press Green Lantern trades or the goofy fun of Super Friends. Ask me, there's a bunch of stuff from the 1970s and 1980s that'd be cool to see in collections, but as I've stated about the Archives, there are only so many slots and soooo much material.

posted November 01, 2002 09:53 AM            

If folks seem impatient on some things, it is because we're all fans...

That the time is taken to come here (and there are more than a few choices out there that prove that) as well as the contination of the Archive line is very much appreciated!

posted November 01, 2002 10:36 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
I certainly will be exploring this with our marketing people in the months to come

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And that's all that most of us are asking for. And we appreciate it. Thanks!

posted November 01, 2002 12:47 PM               

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
quote:
Originally posted by James Friel:
Which leads me to this question: What would a scenario look like in which DC felt that enough interest did exist (or could be drummed up) in material of this nature: that is, in an obscure but high-quality, very old
strip which is a peak creation by a creator who is universally acknowleged in the field as a genius, but who was utterly unknown outside it.
What would the indications of such demand (or at least receptivity) look like?
How would we know it was there?
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quote:

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Originally posted by TBolt:
I wonder if the upcoming Thunder Agents Archive (while not DC material) would fall under this scenario as a test of the marketplace?

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posted November 01, 2002 12:59 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:

... 2003 may see us go closer to 18 a year adding in all the titles. With just 18 slots we need to appeal to as broad a range of interests as possible.

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posted November 01, 2002 01:08 PM               

Thanks for the reply about the trades. My real problem with DC's trade program for current material is how long it takes for it to get reprinted. You listed Nightwing as one of the series that is getting TPB coverage. I went to Amazon and looked up Nightwing and saw that there are 4 trades out right now. The newest one seems to go up to the last No Mans Land story which ends in issue #39, next months issue is #75. this puts the Nightwing trades about 3 years behind the ongoing title. Contrast this to the Ultimates. Ultimates #7 came out this week, and there is already a trade for Ultimates #1-6 which was a couple weeks old. Granted if Ultimates had come out on time it would already be at #9, but even so you are only 3 months behind if you decide to read the series as a trade instead of monthly.

I would really like to change my collecting method to all Trades, but since the majority of what I read is DC I haven't been able to do that. Only JLA and JSA (and I guess Flash now, but I won't really believe that until I see a third one since Batgirl seems to have petered out with the second trade) have been putting out trades that are reasonably up to date with the monthly. My ideal would be to only get the core Batbooks, Green Lantern, Fantastic Four, and the core Spiderbooks in the monthly format, and everything else in Trade format.

Here is hopeing that one day my pipe dream will come true.

posted November 01, 2002 01:44 PM               

Not on your list of current collections is the Alan Moore Swamp Thing, which I assume is still moving forward. (And since it's not a current series being collected, it may not have belonged on the list.) And, come to think of it, the Morrison Animal Man trades (just one more to go, I think).

For the next Vertigo series, can I suggest filling in the uncollected Jamie Delano issues of Hellblazer?

Again, thank you for your insights and participation.

posted November 01, 2002 02:40 PM            

I have ONE REQUEST/QUESTION:

Has, or would, the Archives Committee consider alternating the GA Green Lantern & GA Flash each year?

Alan Scott is still active in the DC Universe, and seems to be one of the original characters who still has a following. I've got to believe a schedule alternating him with the GA Flash would work. I hope the committee will continue to publish these two lines on a regular basis.

posted November 01, 2002 03:28 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by TTOMLINS99:
Just a question here.I know some of you have mentioned you just want to buy tradepaperbacks and not the regular comics.
Well the owner of my comic shop said the tradepaperback will slowly put the comic shops out of business with most people buying tradepaperbacks at barnes and noble and amazon.Well I would like to hear some other opinions on this.

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I doubt it will put most shops out of business. A shift of the basic unit of comics to trade paperbacks will almost certainly force retailers to <i>reconfigure</i> their business, though. Retailers who aren't creative enough to readjust and compete with the new way of selling comics will go under, and new retailers, who might have shied away from a traditional comic shop but now see a trade paperback-based store as a viable option, will open stores.

But I could be completely wrong.

Rob

posted November 01, 2002 04:00 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by TTOMLINS99:
Just a question here.I know some of you have mentioned you just want to buy tradepaperbacks and not the regular comics.
Well the owner of my comic shop said the tradepaperback will slowly put the comic shops out of business with most people buying tradepaperbacks at barnes and noble and amazon.Well I would like to hear some other opinions on this.

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posted November 01, 2002 05:06 PM               

Where do you go shop in the Dayton area? The shop I frequent in Fairborn (the Bookery Fantasy) has a huge TPB stock and would survive were the market to shift from singles to collections.

The key, in my opinion, is having new material released regularly enough to support any outlets. An example to consider, the Crossgen Compendia. Those are released every month and are essentially anthologies of their monthlies -- TPBs. I don't buy eveery Crossgen monthly, but I do pick up both Forge and Edge. My retailer gets a guaranteed $25/month from those two TPB every month, not to mention any other purchases I happen to make -- like a $50 (pre-discount) Archive.

As Rod Staeger suggests the existing comics retailer paradigm will shift, but an effective business can make that shift regardless of his location (New York or Dayton, Ohio.)

posted November 01, 2002 06:04 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by TTOMLINS99:
Just a question here.I know some of you have mentioned you just want to buy tradepaperbacks and not the regular comics.
Well the owner of my comic shop said the tradepaperback will slowly put the comic shops out of business with most people buying tradepaperbacks at barnes and noble and amazon.Well I would like to hear some other opinions on this.

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posted November 01, 2002 07:52 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GaryUK:
One possible suggestion would be to have a Berni Wrightson collection, collecting the 10 issues of Swamp Thing plus some other stories he did, mainly horror (I think).

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This one has to be at least several years off, since a new printing of the Wrightson Swamp Thing tpb is coming out in December and got a big write-up in Previews last month.

posted November 01, 2002 08:02 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by James Friel:
Is this simply another instance of unfavorable stereotyping?
Let me remind you that the deceased are not covered by minimum wage laws, by OSHA, or indeed by any labor legislation, even the most rudimentary.
And consider the conditions in which most of them would have to work! Only the most fortunate, residing in relatively spacious mausolea, would have much chance of meeting a deadline or turning in acceptable material.

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You know, if the non-living can't meet their deadlines, DC could always hire ghost writers to write on the dead's behalf.

------------------
I INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT OPERATION EMERALD STORM!!

Send your extra comic books to our troops fighting in the Persian Gulf!!

posted November 01, 2002 08:53 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by BillNolan:

This one has to be at least several years off, since a new printing of the Wrightson Swamp Thing tpb is coming out in December and got a big write-up in Previews last month.

- Bill

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Wow, that's good news! I own those in floppies, but really would like the whole run collected! Now I get my wish!

posted November 02, 2002 08:20 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by BillNolan:

This one has to be at least several years off, since a new printing of the Wrightson Swamp Thing tpb is coming out in December and got a big write-up in Previews last month.

- Bill

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posted November 02, 2002 08:27 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GaryUK:
When the Green Lantern/Green Arrow slipcase came out, weren't the baxter reprint series and the 2 vol soft trade paperback versions available round about this time, (give or take a few years)?

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The Baxter series came out in 1983-84. The trades had been out of print for a while when the slipcase was released. Now would have been a perfect time for a Swamp Thing Archive, since the Baxter reprints came out so long ago and the tpb has been out of print for quite a while, but obviously DC had different plans for the material.