(out now!) The Streets of Mega-City One (2011 Update) Volume One

[John Caliber]

I'll use this thread to keep you updated on existing and upcoming 2011 SoMC1 volumes and companion materials.

Volume One (covering Letters A-G) is now available here:
http://excoboard.com/PlayDredd/146039/1778959?page=1#5201428

Volume Two (H-Q) is published in April, and the final Volume Three (R-Z) in May. A companion - the SoMC1 Directory (an A-Z index of locations arranged by Region/Sector Number) will be published alongside Volume Three.

Two years in the making and it's nearly over! Thanks to Jim McGibbon and Ivan Noel for their help in bringing the project over the finish line. The possibility also exists of a hardcopy edition being made available in the near future.

Enjoy for now, thrill-seekers!

[TordelBack]

Yay, been waiting for this!

[COMMANDO FORCES]

The possibility also exists of a hardcopy edition being made available in the near future.

Nice 

[John Caliber]

I've just issued a replacement PDF, the original having some typos in the first two pages, a consequence of getting overly-excited about being very nearly finished with the book...

[John Caliber]

Alongside Volume Three's May publication date will come a re-designed (and slightly updated) DREDD IN SPACE sourcebook. Then, the final project in the series, DREDD'S WORLD (formerly known as DREDDWORLD and CURSED EARTH), will resume production, to be 'in the can' before the end of July.

[John Caliber]

I'm interested in producing a companion SoMC1 which covers all fan-produced Dredd fiction and my associate Ivan Noel has already done some pre-production research. If anybody reading this edits the fanzines and could perhaps assist with our research requests (pointing us in the right direction concerning the quantity and titles of all the fanzines), it would be a tremendous help. TIA!

[John Caliber]

Having decided to make SoMC1 available as a softcover book, I approached Rebellion about possibly publishing it, but I went in aware it has more of a niche appeal than their 2000AD comic strips. Rebellion have declined to publish SoMC1, citing the reality of its relatively low print run, but they are fine with an unofficial guidebook. Rather than trying other publishers, I've decided to self-publish later this year to synchronise with the Dredd 3D movie.

Early plans are to scale the book down to something like Mad Norwegian's About Time Doctor Who books, but I imagine the page count will tally near on 1,000 pages, unless I decide to break it down into two volumes, which is possible. The book(s) would be softcover, with a colour front/back and b/w interior. A preface would detail the books' premise and give an introduction to the world of Judge Dredd. I will create a city map taking into account a modified city wall route suggested by the many real world locales in its vicinity. The books will be published under a different title to SoMC1. The existing PDFs will not be removed from circulation, considered a companion rather than an earlier version. No details on the RRP as yet. Exciting times!

[WhizzBang]

In case you haven't heard of it, Lulu is quite a good place for self publishing.
http://www.lulu.com/uk

[John Caliber]

I have indeed, thanks, and will be costing POD details in May once the SoMC1 (2011) PDFs are completed. They will require a complete reformat and a good proofing before consigning to print.

[TordelBack]

Rebellion have declined to publish SoMC1, citing the reality of its relatively low print run, but they are fine with an unofficial guidebook.

That's a very fair attitude from Rebellion, I'm impressed - as I imagine were they. 

When you think what could be done with your content and layout and the publication budget for Mongoose's MC Files, it's a pity that things went the way they did.

[John Caliber]

I think any hardcover treatment for a Dredd guidebook (a comic strip hardcover is another matter) is unwarranted considering the subject-matter's very limited appeal, and a 13-volume set is OTT to the point it might have dropped out of the Land of Oz.

I didn't plan to publish SoMC1 until very recently, so I would have considered a different approach entirely, but might have finished with a po-faced tome, rather like the Mega-City Archives which are very grandiose and serious, quite unlike the spirit of the comic strip. SoMC1 does however have a nice quirk about it, which I think jives with 2000AD's and Dredd's idiosyncratic attitude.

I dip in and out of SoMC1, landing at random at various locations (and hardly remembering even writing them which is even better), and it seems to function very well with that 'mystery tour' approach in mind, which is worth noting as part of the book's promotion.

[John Caliber]

The second volume of SoMC1 (2011) covers letters H through Q! It is current up to the conclusion of the Judge Dredd story Served Cold.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15673177/SoMC1%20%282011%29%20H-Q.pdf

A revised Volume 1 will be uploaded later this week, incorporating design-related changes premièred in V2.