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Reprint This:- UK Comics I'd Like To See Collected Editions Of

Started by seanharry, 03 March, 2019, 11:36:59 PM

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IndigoPrime

It's possible that messing with the lettering on a lot of strips would be enough. But at that point, would readers start being turned off? Hard to know.

(If it wasn't for rights issues, I'd like a volume that headed to the other extreme – make it a full-on celebration of retro-gaming and comics, with strips followed by insight into the games themselves. Kind of like a massively expanded take on what I wanted to do for Retro Gamer.)

The Amstor Computer

Quote from: Pyroxian on 06 March, 2019, 02:15:09 PM
IIRC, a lot of the artwork wasn't that specific to the game, so just changing the lettering to refer to something else would probably get around it. The only major problem would be the 'Ghostbusters' episodes...

It's certainly more likely that a reprint could be achieved like that than by tracking down rights-holders etc., but when you start to talk about scanning, cleaning up *and* re-lettering strips (and possibly editing artwork in cases where art might be potentially infringing) then the time/cost of reprinting starts to mount up and the margins on what is a fairly niche reprint start to get tighter, especially when you take license fees into account (or you have to pass that cost on, which makes the cover price higher and less appealing to your already-small audience).

For something like Charley's War, where Rebellion owned the rights, it was being re-issued in fresh editions during the centenary year, and they could reasonably expect it to be a more reliable seller, re-lettering was likely more justifiable. For something like CW, perhaps less so.

You'd also have to consider the argument that - as fun and appealing as the stories are on their own merits - do you lose some of the quirky appeal of the series by stripping out references to real-world games? Would a reprint that featured neutered "Spookhunters" and "Sub Patrol" storylines have the same draw as "Ghostbusters" and "Silent Service"?

It's an interesting idea, though.

Professor Bear

Once you've changed the art to something laughably on-the-nose like "Ghosthunters Plc", you'd arguably have a pretty decent satire defence, though whether you want to test it is another matter.

There was also a point where Eagle readers started appearing in the strips, and I haven't a clue what the legal situation is there: was their actual likeness used by the artists?  Does their being a minor at the time create any additional problems?

M.I.K.

Codemasters released an actual game called "Ghost Hunters" back in 1986.

Professor Bear


sheridan

Quote from: seanharry on 04 March, 2019, 02:45:33 PM
So if enough people contacted IDW and asked them to put out a collection of the UK Sonic comic (which I believe Mike McMahon worked on), I'm sure that they would consider it.


Not only that, but if memory serves, Mick rates that as his best work.

M.I.K.

Quote from: Professor Bear on 06 March, 2019, 05:03:07 PM
I think you mean Super Ghost Hunters Simulator.

"ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!" - Richard and/or David Darling

The Adventurer

The only rights-nightmare impossible-dream reprint I want is a translation of the Judge Dredd manga one-shot

THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

sheridan

Quote from: Tjm86 on 04 March, 2019, 08:44:21 PM
Regrettably that is one of the strips that Dan Dare Corporation are sitting on.  Someone from this parish was putting together an article for a retro game mag that they nixed for some bizarre reason.  Some classic games of the time and some outstanding artwork, as you say.  Would make for an interesting piece of work mixed in with articles about the original games as well.


Presumably you're talking about Computer Warrior - I can't see that strip ever being legally reprinted - every episode had a different licenced IP - from companies that have gone bankrupt, merged, been taken over and all thirty years ago.

IndigoPrime

Assuming DDC didn't renege on permission admittedly given to me years back, and Retro Gamer were still interested, an article would be viable, because you wouldn't need any further rights – everything would fall under basic fair use. But full reprints of any strips would obviously be a problem. (My thinking at the time was to juxtapose a frame or two of art with a still or two from the game in question, outlining in copy how the strip progressed and compared to the game in question. This would have been twinned with a bit of background about Computer Warrior's history, and a short interview I conducted with Alan Grant.)