Hachette 2000ad Ultimate Collection Vs Rebellion Collections

[Shakira? Shakara!]

So, I've just cancelled my subscription to the 2000ad Ultimate Collection. I'm having a rationalisation of all my various collections, and as a lot of it duplicates what I already have I'm going to pick and choose which volumes to buy.

I just wondered if people had any thoughts on which parts of the 2000ad canon that Hachette may be a better option than the Rebellion printings? Obviously these things are subjective - I prefer a nice hardcover to an easily creased softcover, on the other hand, I prefer a spine that actually says what's in the collection rather than a fancy piece of artwork and a random number! But here are my thoughts:

Rogue Trooper / Robo-Hunter / Sinister Dexter - never bought any of these as collections, so these are ones I'd pick up as part of the UC. Also smaller stuff and one offs like Bad Company, DR & Quinch, Halo Jones, etc.

Strontium Dog - this is probably the most complicated one. I have the 5 S/D Files as Strontium Dog is probably my favourite series, but I've never bought the rebooted series as collections. So at the very least I'll be picking those ones up. But then, why not have them all so they are in a consistent format and in HC? Well, the deciding factor may be the lack of the Starlord strips, which are in the first S/D Files collection so obviously I am not going to bin that one off! Think I may therefore just pick up the reboot volumes in this series.

Nemesis / Nikolai Dante / Slaine / Shakara - Have all of these as Rebellion collections, so just have to consider if it's worth rebuying these just for the sake of having them in HC. I suspect the expense involved will mean I don't.

ABC Warriors - this is the easiest decision really. The Mek Files are pretty definitive versions. Colour spreads restored, artwork is bigger, nice attractive HCs. No need to get the Hachette volumes, they aren't an upgrade.

Anything else I haven't taken into account? Anyone else picking and choosing which volumes to buy?

[IndigoPrime]

Rogue Trooper / Robo-Hunter / Sinister Dexter - never bought any of these as collections, so these are ones I'd pick up as part of the UC.

UC for all won't be complete, note, for RT/RH.

Also smaller stuff and one offs like Bad Company, DR & Quinch, Halo Jones, etc.

Smaller stuff likely to be a moderate (HC) to major (colour for DR & Quinch extras) upgrade, although DR & Quinch is oddly twinned with Skizz.

Nemesis / Nikolai Dante / Slaine / Shakara - Have all of these as Rebellion collections, so just have to consider if it's worth rebuying these just for the sake of having them in HC. I suspect the expense involved will mean I don't.

I like most of those to the point I'm double/treble dipping, but with Sláine have decided to stop at Horned God. Everything else will be on eBay. At least, I say that now... (That said, I do have Books of Invasions in full-size HC, and so the UC won't be as good.)

ABC Warriors - this is the easiest decision really. The Mek Files are pretty definitive versions. Colour spreads restored, artwork is bigger, nice attractive HCs. No need to get the Hachette volumes, they aren't an upgrade.

Although the SMS art in Black Hole is a lot better in the UC. That said, I sold off mine, because I like the format of Mek Files 1 so much better, and it doesn't weirdly hack Black Hole in half. (I don't really care for much ABCW after that point.)

Anyone else picking and choosing which volumes to buy?

I went from subbing, to quitting and attempting to buy, then finding no-one actually stocked the fucking things, and so have attempted to resubscribe. I now have no idea when I'm going to start getting books again, but there you go. I'm going to sell stuff off I don't want on eBay.

Of other series, Kingdom is the biggest issue for me. One of my all-time 2000 AD favourites, but how far will it go? It'd be a bit crap to only get part of the series in HC, but that's very likely, I guess, purely on account of it's still running in 2000 AD!

[Shakira? Shakara!]

UC for all won't be complete, note, for RT/RH.

Really? I'm surprised by that, as they are basically dead properties (in a publishing sense, clearly the upcoming Rogue film suggests there is plenty of life left in other media. Aside from the odd one-off special neither have had a series for years) so doing the complete run in UC form should be a formality.

Whilst this would put me off bothering with any more Ultimate Collection editions, a quick glance in the 2000ad store and on Amazon suggests that Rogue Trooper Vol. 3 and Robo-Hunter Droid Files 1 are both out of print and going for silly money, so hoovering up the Rebellion collections seems to be out of the question now. Ah well, UCs it is even if they're not going to offer a complete collection of both.

[Dark Jimbo]

UC for all won't be complete, note, for RT/RH.

Really? I'm surprised by that...

Original Robo-Hunter will be complete - it's the various reboots and sequel that won't be included. Likewise, the original Gerry-Finley Day RT will be complete - it's the increasingly ropey reboots and re-imaginings that may not make an appearance.

[Shakira? Shakara!]

Original Robo-Hunter will be complete - it's the various reboots and sequel that won't be included. Likewise, the original Gerry-Finley Day RT will be complete - it's the increasingly ropey reboots and re-imaginings that may not make an appearance.

Ah! Good stuff. TBH I wasn't really expecting the Millar Robo-Hunter or Friday stuff unless the series ends up being extended, and a lot of the non-original run of both strips is either long out of print or never been reprinted anyway. Similar to the Strontium Dogs stuff which I also don't expect to see the light of day as part of the UC publishing plan. Happy all the Wagner / Grant & Finley-Day stuff will be collected in their entirity, as that's the stuff I want to read or re-read. Hopefully Cinnabar will be included in the Rogue material, as I remember really enjoying that one.