primenova
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 6,057
|
Post by primenova on Dec 28, 2016 12:04:19 GMT
It'll be seeing if the cover gallery includes Lee Sullivan Robin Smith covers too. That's the only thing that need to be altered. Schedule  |
|
|
|
Post by Fortmax2020 on Dec 28, 2016 19:44:18 GMT
Shed loads of this all over the big WHSmith in Manchester city centre today. Seemed to be getting a lot of attention as well.
I note that the magazine/poster that came with Trial #1 is absent this time around.
|
|
primenova
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 6,057
|
Post by primenova on Dec 28, 2016 19:48:39 GMT
I'll pick up another copy because heard the spine image is altered.
|
|
primenova
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 6,057
|
Post by primenova on Dec 30, 2016 7:12:15 GMT
Just to confirm there are 2 types of #1 & is the new one with Grimlock centre on the spine. I got the full one with the poster for £1.99 in Castleford Albion st newsagent - they had 1 more copy in but have seen the smaller on in WHSmith. Without the poster.
|
|
primenova
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 6,057
|
Post by primenova on Dec 30, 2016 7:41:51 GMT
Correct inner used, but covers #89,90,91,92,94 not in
|
|
|
|
Post by Pinwig on Dec 30, 2016 12:56:45 GMT
I just picked this up in Smiths. They had a ton of them. The poster is great, I would pay for an unfolded version that size just to put on the wall because it's the old back of the box type art. The book itself is a bit meh as far as I'm concerned though. I understand the problems with reproducing old comic art, but some of the 2006 scans are so blurry it's hard to see them as definitive. Parts 9 and 10 particularly look very soft to me. However, comparing it page for page with the Classics UK books it's obviously better. Larger, clearer and more vibrant because of the glossy stock used to print it.
The recoloured US stuff also doesn't feel quite right. I understand they can't be printed the way the were originally, but the removal of the old colouring on some of those pages has left the inks very sharp, like the contrast has been whacked up too high. Comparing the original UK comic Decepticon Graffiti to this new one - I'm not sure the new colouring really does the style of the original justice. Tell you what, it feels like a KO. It's almost right, but not quite true. I don't feel that with the reproduction in the Dredd books, but then I guess those are being remastered by Rebellion's dedicated reprographics person who does it full time and are mostly B/W or coming from digital masters anyway so there's no colouring issue. These I guess are IDW cleanups used for their collection books?
I would imagine those covers are missing Primenova because the US versions are printed alongside the comic they go with. Tis an oversight though, because it means all the alternate/redrawn UK versions will be missing. I like the fact they've included extra pages from the comic too - but it's no where near the level of the Classics UK books.
|
|
|
|
Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Dec 30, 2016 14:08:40 GMT
I couldn't not buy the first volume when I saw it for £1.99 in a newsagent's window.
I agree with Pinwig's comments. The quality of the binding and paper stock is top notch and the poster is interesting historic artwork, but it's not a patch on the Titan collections, with the excellent cover art and perfect interior reproduction quality of their US hardbacks, and the large page-size of their UK volumes. The US stories here are the inferior low-resolution semi-recoloured IDW reprint versions, and the UK stories are reduced in size (though not as much as in IDW's collections). Only in their treatment of the black and white UK stories does this series have the opportunity to outshine the Titan collections, where Titan set the bar very low.
Not great quality control either, as the character guide on the back of the poster mixes up Prowl and Jazz.
Martin
|
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Dec 30, 2016 14:11:06 GMT
it's not a patch on the Titan collections, with the excellent cover art and perfect interior reproduction quality of their US hardbacks, and their large page-size UK volumes. Honestly, I really really wish they'd printed these at the correct size. I hate the whole Americanisation of everything. These comics weren't designed to be seen in the tiny American style. But still, for £1.99... |
|
|
|
Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Dec 30, 2016 17:31:57 GMT
Hmmm, and an artefact of IDW's first floppy reprint of T:2006 persists, in that the final page of issue #86's strip (which I think was split across two IDW floppies) has the TF logo at the top, while #87 has no TF logo at the start. Sloppy.  Martin |
|
|
|
Post by Fortmax2020 on Dec 30, 2016 18:29:16 GMT
I'm very happy with the quality of these. Superior to some we've seen and only with minor faults in places. Great binding and quality of paper stock. Well done to Hatchette I say and them taken the plunge on these series is much appreciated.
Contrary to my earlier statement the magazine with #1 appears to be tucked in behind the book itself rather than to the side as in the trial. Makes it a darn sight easier to display in store so makes a lot of sense.
The spine art is different to the trial spines. I will send photos to Phil. He will make them magically appear. Guess there have been some last minute changes and shuffling abouts which have changed this.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Dec 30, 2016 22:35:58 GMT
Hmmm, and an artefact of IDW's first floppy reprint of T:2006 persists, in that the final page of issue #86's strip (which I think was split across two IDW floppies) has the TF logo at the top, while #87 has no TF logo at the start. Sloppy. Martin Oh for fuck sakes. I had contacted Hachette pointed out that needed fixed for the main run! Hey, £2 for a copy of Target: 2006 is not to be sniffed at and having TF comics in UK newsagents again is a Good Thing as it catches readers who are not on message boards or go to comic shops. For £2 it's still well worth it though all the criticisms of the volume are indeed valid and no less so because of the price. -Ralph |
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Dec 30, 2016 22:37:40 GMT
Ugh. Still that tired recycled style guide stuff. I shall stick with my decision just to get the Marvel issues. I have no need to see all of that spine! -Ralph |
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Dec 30, 2016 22:47:16 GMT
On the strength of this first book I'm not even sure I'm going to do that now. I will have to think about it. I have everything in other, better formats. A uniform collection would be nice, but it just isn't very good. I agree. It's the thought of having a series collecting the Marvel US/UK series in the holy 332 running order that attracts me. It's a real shame lower quality IDW scans/remasters are being used though. As you said it's the difference between slapping things on paper and properly reproducing them such as Rebellion do. The repro is still much better than in IDW UK Classics though, which are an utter disgrace. I voted with my wallet on that series. Great price-point though. £10 for more than what is usually fitted in £15-20 trade paperbacks and they'll be picked up by folk who don't have prior reprints, etc. -Ralph |
|
|
|
Post by inflatabledalek on Dec 30, 2016 22:51:00 GMT
Have they stuck the Gift back in its proper place in the first book? Only one person (Ryan F on twitter) seemed to notice it was missing so perhaps it's not a major thing, but whilst there's wriggle room on how you treat the black and white stories (and some of the Annual stuff, having Vicious Circle at the end of the Galvatron arc rather than when it was published is sensible) if that's not before Decepticon Graffiti all claims it's going to do the Marvel series in sequence have gone out the window with the first book.
It does kind of feel like the trial did well enough to go to full release, but not well enough to throw that much more effort at it than they put in the trial.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pinwig on Dec 30, 2016 22:59:17 GMT
The Gift isn't in the new version. I would imagine that's due to page counts. Each book isn't fixed, the Dredd ones are variable in length, but I can see The Gift being something that could slip into Volume 7 without too much damage to the chronology. I would imagine there will be a fair bit of that down to the number of pages each book can contain.
|
|
|
|
Post by inflatabledalek on Dec 30, 2016 23:05:37 GMT
But even if there are practical reasons for it, that means it was never going to be The Entire Marvel Series In Order right from the off (it's not as if they've got 20 books in and then realised that, whoops something has to be moved for the page count) and that should never have been mentioned as a selling point.
I'm actually more looking forward to the IDW side, assuming they don't fuck things up to much with the "New" chronological order (what is IDW's obsession with that? They're intended to be read as they came out anyway!) that should make a nice set of MTMTE era stuff.
|
|
|
|
Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Dec 31, 2016 8:10:21 GMT
Have they stuck the Gift back in its proper place in the first book? If everything was really going to be printed in reading order, then 'Stargazing' should appear alongside 'The Gift', i.e. moved one Christmas earlier, so that Starscream returns earlier in time to appear and dogfight with the Aerialbots and Jetfire in the annual text story 'Return of the Transformers'. But unlike asking for decent reproduction quality on the US strips, that would be an unreasonable expectation for an 'elite' fan! Martin |
|
|
|
Post by Pinwig on Dec 31, 2016 11:37:34 GMT
I'm actually more looking forward to the IDW side, assuming they don't fuck things up to much with the "New" chronological order (what is IDW's obsession with that? They're intended to be read as they came out anyway!) that should make a nice set of MTMTE era stuff. The order for that will be interesting. Original print order, IDW collection order, or 'new revised order because stuff needed retro fitting after the IDW Collection started' order... |
|
|
|
Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Dec 31, 2016 13:52:47 GMT
We should celebrate best practice - like the hardback Titan collections of the US series, which were perfectly cleaned up versions of the originals. They started well, but they're really shoddy by the end. Dark Star has awful reproduction, which is a shame as most of the other volumes are so good. Still better than the IDW Classics reproduction though. I stand corrected. The last few volumes (end of Budiansky run) are perhaps understandably the ones I've perused the least. Hmmm, just looking through them now. Dark Star looks pretty good to me. Unlike IDW's G.I. Joe and US TF TPB reprints, if these are digital files I struggle to find any diagonal black lines that have become staircases, and the fine dot colouring appears intact. Yes, I can see a few frames where some fine black lines appear to be missing around coloured objects, but as I don't still have the original comics I don't know how clear they were in the originals. If there are flaws in them they are nothing like those that are apparent when you put that Titan and IDW versions of issue TF US #1 side by side and see the staggering loss of detail. Edit: OK, yeah, I've found a few crap panels in Dark Star now... Martin |
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Dec 31, 2016 15:44:57 GMT
I'm actually more looking forward to the IDW side, assuming they don't fuck things up to much with the "New" chronological order (what is IDW's obsession with that? They're intended to be read as they came out anyway!) that should make a nice set of MTMTE era stuff. The order for that will be interesting. Original print order, IDW collection order, or 'new revised order because stuff needed retro fitting after the IDW Collection started' order... Putting things in a chronological order is fine once its all done, but with an ongoing series it makes no real sense when new series may take place anywhere on the timeline. And given that this is going to get released out of order it probably makes even less sense. Though I suppose they could put the volumes in chronological order but release them closer to original publishing order so that any surprises are kept for first time readers. Or swap it and release in mostly chronological order and have the volumes in print order. |
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Dec 31, 2016 15:58:19 GMT
If the print quality is below par thats a shame, but for new readers or ones like me that haven't studied the originals for a while, the quick look I had at T2006 makes me think its acceptable enough. Having said that people should absolutely let Hachette know they arent happy as theres no reason they cant improve things as the run continues. I guess we are stuck with the spine art now, I don't find it bad just bland, but as someone said if the covers can, even occasionally ditch the stock art for something a little more creative then I'd be all for it.
For me I can justify the price thanks to having very little of any of it in collected physical format. I have (I think) a complete Marvel UK run and large chunks of the US run Ive got Target 2006 from Transforce 2002 with the reversed pages oh and the first few UK classics in dead wood before switching to digital. Dreamwave I have single issues till I got bored and IDW a mix of singles and trades from early on followed by digital only.
One collection that puts all that near enough in order in good quality book form is fine with me.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Dec 31, 2016 16:07:53 GMT
I'm happy with what they're doing. Of course there will be different ways of doing things that we the 'elite' fans would like them to do but we're not the target market I dunno about that. Look at the big selling points they're using for this - Specially produced covers, exclusive bonus content, collectible spines and all stories in order. At £20 a month if the core market for this isn't older Transformers fans like us then I'm not sure who it's aimed at. It's pushing the buttons of collectors completely. Casual fans aren't going to sign up to an £800 collection simply for nostalgia reasons and kids won't recognise the characters because this isn't movie or RiD. Would the 'teens getting into Generations toys because they liked RiD/Prime when they were younger' audience be big enough to support something like this on its own? Unless you're dedicated to the cause these stories probably won't mean anything. I remember when Major Spoilers, a respected comics podcast, reviewed Last Stand of the Wreckers. They rubbished it because outside the world of Transformers fandom it made no sense. I know that was a real hardcore fan aimed story, but for the casual magazine buyer in Smiths most of these stories will be. While I agree generally, I do think you may be underestimating kids awareness of the older material. The 80s cartoon has repeatedly been available on DVD at budget prices for most of the last 15 years. Especially if parents were fans as kids. That probably doesnt translate in to many sales of anyone under 20, but Transformers comics advertised on TV at £1.99 may pick up some casual/younger buyers who stick around because they liked the stories. |
|
|
|
Post by Pinwig on Dec 31, 2016 16:16:03 GMT
You could be right. I hope so. It would be nice to think there is a market among the under 20's big enough to see a new generation of fans getting interested in the older stuff. It must be there to some degree because when I'm in toy shops there are kids looking at the Generations figures and buying them, and it can't just be us who is getting Generations toys back into supermarkets.
But I also know through experience of working with 10-13 year olds right through the new movie era that Transformers is something they see as a series of 'okayish' films. They don't buy toys, or associated media. The number of kids I've come across who actually have a genuine interest in Transformers as a brand is maybe two or three in the last ten years. I also know people in their mid twenties now who were exactly the right age when Armada kicked off to be hooked, and they barely remember it despite having had toys at the time.
|
|
primenova
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 6,057
|
Post by primenova on Dec 31, 2016 20:33:15 GMT
US #23 printed Dec86 & UK print Jan87 doesn't feel like December. Also Target 2006 Nov86 feels more like summer. Marvel US also seem to do a xmas issue once every 5 years. That does fit in with Spiderman run. ie 20 years of comics is 5 years in Marvel time. But how many time did Spider-man have xmas from the clone saga to clone returns? We never had a US xmas Transformers Marvel us issue.
|
|
jont
Organic
Posts: 4 
|
Post by jont on Dec 31, 2016 20:36:48 GMT
To be honest, with all the other TF comic reprints going back to Titan's, plus actually owning a good deal of the original comics, pretty much the only selling point for me will be the newly-coloured b&w Marvel UK strips from John-Paul Bove. Eagerly awaiting these since, rather astonishingly, in the over 25 years since they were first published not one TF comic license holder has reprinted those stories in colour!
Plus, the prospects of the Transformers Classics UK collection actually getting to these stories, whether in b&w or colour, seems to be an increasingly shaky prospect.
|
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 31, 2016 21:21:29 GMT
US #23 printed Dec86 & UK print Jan87 doesn't feel like December. Also Target 2006 Nov86 feels more like summer. Marvel US also seem to do a xmas issue once every 5 years. That does fit in with Spiderman run. ie 20 years of comics is 5 years in Marvel time. But how many time did Spider-man have xmas from the clone saga to clone returns? We never had a US xmas Transformers Marvel us issue. I'd avoid thinking about most of those questions, the answers don't make sense. US#23 was published cAugust 86. But there's not much noticeable seasonal change in any US story. |
|
|
|
Post by inflatabledalek on Jan 4, 2017 13:44:16 GMT
Quick on the phone post to say Furman is doing Facebook posts about the partwork through the day. Only seen the first one so far (it has been an odd morning for many humorous reasons) but: It repeats the idea this will be the Marvel series in correct order (alas The Gift). ReGeneration One will be in the books immediately following the Marvel series to "Wrap it up". No word on G2, I would say it would be awkwad to have Reg go right after a run that is inclusive of the UK stories when it doesn't treat them as canon (of course, G2 technically isn't trying to follow up on more than the US book either, but its contradictions are a lot smaller and make for a smoother transition). I'd have put Reg later in the run myself (around publication order) to emphasise it's not quite following upbon the full Marvel continuity that partwork buyers have been experiencing. If that makes sense? This is armchair quarterbacking rather than an especially serious issue for me though, as long as G2 is in there somewhere Reg can be where it likes. m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=437482333309471&id=100011431245251Also from his replies, Wanted: Galvatron will be in the seventh released issue, whilst Raiders of the Last Ark (and presumably New Order based on the title given) will be the 34th. Edit: Oh, and the replies clarify stories where the continuity is a bit loose will be moved around for issues such as page count. |
|
|
|
Post by kinggrimlock on Jan 4, 2017 14:04:46 GMT
Hi everyone,
Just signed up here as the Hachette partworks thing has got me super excited about all things G1 once more! I read the Marvel UK run religiously from the very first issue, up to the point they dropped the GI Joe strip, as by then I'd found the US originals and any original UK material had long dried up. I suscribed as soon as the news broke and have received the 4 trial issues. Very pleased with them - I think they may be even nicer the Judge Dredd ones which I am also subscribed to, despite a few flaws that others have mentioned. Just nice to see these great strips the handsome hardcover treatment!
Anyway, the downside of the fact that they have gone nationwide is that those of us who have the first 4 have to wait until March for our first "hit" of the new stuff, with only the contents of issue 5 known. However, it seems the contents to #6 and #7 (following on nicely from what inflatabledalek just wrote) are as follows:
#6 - Escalation. Collecting #1 to 6 of Escalation (IDW) by Furman & Su - 200pgs
#7 - Purchance To Dream. Collecting UK #240 - 260 & US #76 & 77 by Furman, Anderson, Senior, Staz, Stokes & Wildman - 160pgs
Look forward to finding out about future volumes. Like Marvel's excellent Epic Collections, although the random publication can be frustrating if you want to read them all in order, it's fun to guess and anticipate what might be coming next / soon.
Cheers!
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy Turnbull on Jan 4, 2017 14:52:15 GMT
Welcome!!!
All of the Dreamwave material that has seen print in single Issue form is going to be included in the Definitive Collection according to the Furmanator himself.
Andy
|
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Jan 4, 2017 17:00:07 GMT
ReGeneration One will be in the books immediately following the Marvel series to "Wrap it up". No word on G2, I would say it would be awkwad to have Reg go right after a run that is inclusive of the UK stories when it doesn't treat them as canon (of course, G2 technically isn't trying to follow up on more than the US book either, but its contradictions are a lot smaller and make for a smoother transition). I'd have put Reg later in the run myself (around publication order) to emphasise it's not quite following upbon the full Marvel continuity that partwork buyers have been experiencing. Hmm. Ah. Hmm. Not sure about that. I too would prefer it to be more chronological but I can see why they'd do that. G2 should always be the definitive end though!!!! |
|
