2000 AD - The Ultimate Collection

[sintec]

Harlem Heroes + Inferno (which is the content of The Complete Harlem Heroes) is a really annoying length for these Hachette volumes.  Barney gives 112 and 183 as the page counts and based on past stats the Hachette volumes tend to be between 160-240. Inferno is just perfect for a volume but the initial story is too short to fill a volume by itself. They could split Inferno over 2 books as they did with Rage but that would leave them another half a volume to fill and whilst there is later material I get the impression it's not as highly regarded. A complete run would require 3 books and given the way the page counts split up into Hachette volumes it feels like this one is either all or nothing.

Mean Arena is another awkward fit with the initial run being too long for 1 book but not quite enough for 2. Potentially a pair of volumes I guess although again I get the impression the quality drops off as it goes on.

A completionist run of Flesh would need 3 volumes
1) Book1 & 2 + Annual stories
2) Legend Of Shamana, Chronocide, Hand Of Glory, Texas
3) Midnight Cowboys, Badlanders, Gorehead
The Dino Files volume (I'm presuming that's the one you were talking about Jade Falcon) clocks in at ~270 pages, omits Legend and Chronocide and stops at Texas. Anyone know why were Legend and Chronocide ommitted from the Dino Files? And is the more recent material (post Texas) any good?

Only thing I can see to pair Shako with would be to do a Creature Feature book - I guess there's Ant-Wars from around the same era although that doesn't seem to be vey highly rated.  Are there a good creature feature style stories from later eras it could be paired with?

VCs fits really nicely into 2 volumes - but you have to include the start of the later Abnett run in the first book to do so.

Looks like there's plenty of Ian Edington stand alone stuff to pair up with Leviathan.  A subset of { Helium, Interceptor, Detonator X, American Gothic } assuming there's a subset of that available to Hachette which is worth reprinting.  If they go with creator themed volumes then a Frazer Irving collection along the lines of the Storming Heaven trade would seem likely { Love Like Blood, Storming Heaven, From Grace, Future Shocks e.t.c }. And as discussed many times there's easily a couple of John Smith volumes along these lines collecting { Firekind, Cradlegrave, Leatherjack, Revere }.  Alternatively they could mix and match these stories based on themes in a similar way to the Mega Collection books.

My guess on Savage is that we're going to get the Taking Liberties stuff this summer in volume 63. At 192 pages that trade is the perfect size to convert directly into a Hachette volume. 3 more volumes in the extension would bring us right up to date as these fit nicely 3 books to a Volume. Although it's worth noting we'd need a book 12 to fill out the last volume or it'll be light on page count.

The recent Defoe run (The Divisor) means it'd probably need 3 books to collect it all now rather than 2. On the flip side the recent run of Brink means it'd be a perfect fit for 2 volumes (2 books each) - where before it was too much for 1.

Mambo looks to be about 152 pages so just about big enough for a standalone volume.

Tharg really does have his work cut out juggling all this.

[abelardsnazz]

Really enjoyed Invasion, a proper old-school Thrill that I don't think I've read all the way through before.

My guess on Savage is that we're going to get the Taking Liberties stuff this summer in volume 63. At 192 pages that trade is the perfect size to convert directly into a Hachette volume. 3 more volumes in the extension would bring us right up to date as these fit nicely 3 books to a Volume. Although it's worth noting we'd need a book 12 to fill out the last volume or it'll be light on page count.

The intro to Invasion states that the forthcoming Savage volume will reprint the first three books, so that covers the Taking Liberties volume.

[Jade Falcon]

The later Savage books took a bit to get used to due to the contrast in style. The Volgans in Invasion were moustache twirling villains and Savage was way over the top, this isn't a criticism, just reflecting the style of the time. Taking Liberties and Guv'nor were a lot darker, like a certain scene that Savage does. I don't want to give spoilers for those who haven't read it.

[Apestrife]

Anyone got a spare Dark justice, or seen it in a fp store or such?

I cant find it for a resonable price on ebay.

[Dark Jimbo]

A completionist run of Flesh would need 3 volumes
1) Book1 & 2 + Annual stories
2) Legend Of Shamana, Chronocide, Hand Of Glory, Texas
3) Midnight Cowboys, Badlanders, Gorehead
Anyone know why were Legend and Chronocide ommitted from the Dino Files? And is the more recent material (post Texas) any good?

Trust me, there won't be a completionist run of Flesh! If it gets included in the UC, I predict one volume collecting Books I and II.

Anyone know why were Legend and Chronocide ommitted from the Dino Files?

Chronocide was not written by Pat Mills, thereby rubbing him up the wrong way. In any case, while not terrible, both stories are a bit 'B-grade' in the way of say, Rogue Trooper: The Hit and so, so much 90's material, without the retro/nostalgia factor that gives the early stuff a free pass.

And is the more recent material (post Texas) any good?

In a word? No.

In a few more words? Your own mileage may vary, of course; you may think it's the best thing ever when you read it. But it's all over the place tone-wise, and absolutely riddled with inconsistencies, plot-holes and just plain baffling story choices. By the time of 2013's Badlanders, the artist is clearly having issues with deadlines (or maybe the scripts) and the art quality visibly tanks, leading to his parting ways with the comic and Langley being drafted in to (sort of) finish things off in the last book. Worth checking out, but Ultimate Collection material? Nah.

[Dark Jimbo]

The recent Defoe run (The Divisor) means it'd probably need 3 books to collect it all now rather than 2.

I honestly don't think that's an issue; in that, if Defoe makes it into the extension (I'm praying it does!) the run by series co-creator Leigh Gallagher splits so perfectly into two three-book volumes that you'd not really feel the loss of the later material.*


*No comment on quality, just that we lose a bit of artistic coherency; jumping from Gallagher to Colin MacNeil's sepia wash to Moore's batshit-crazy delineations.

[gurnard]

The complete Red Seas would be nice. Don't know if that would fit volume wise?

[Dark Jimbo]

The complete Red Seas would be nice. Don't know if that would fit volume wise?

Someone worked out that you'd need approx. four volumes, which is a pretty big chunk of the extension...

[IndigoPrime]

750 pages, according to the 2000 AD shop. So, yeah, that's a bursting-at-the-seams three volumes or – more likely – four. I'd be up for it being included, but there's no point in including Red Seas if we don't get the entire run.

[Dark Jimbo]

750 pages, according to the 2000 AD shop. So, yeah, that's a bursting-at-the-seams three volumes or – more likely – four. I'd be up for it being included, but there's no point in including Red Seas if we don't get the entire run.

The collection has a bit of precedent for leaving out non-essential stories where there just isn't room (A Sorry Case, for instance, from the S/D volumes); so you could jettison Beautiful Freak and its time-travelling tortoise for a 45-page gain, and the remainder splits nicely across three volumes for an average 235-page count.

[Jade Falcon]

750 pages, according to the 2000 AD shop. So, yeah, that's a bursting-at-the-seams three volumes or – more likely – four. I'd be up for it being included, but there's no point in including Red Seas if we don't get the entire run.

The collection has a bit of precedent for leaving out non-essential stories where there just isn't room (A Sorry Case, for instance, from the S/D volumes); so you could jettison Beautiful Freak and its time-travelling tortoise for a 45-page gain, and the remainder splits nicely across three volumes for an average 235-page count.

We also never had the S/D story from the, I think it was, 1981 annual, where Johnny and Wulf arrive in a frontier town which is under threat from a bunch of lizard/reptilian aliens, and one of the few who resists is an older woman.

[The Monarch]

of course if we now get an new volume of stront maybe a sorry case could be slotted in?

[Dark Jimbo]

We also never had the S/D story from the, I think it was, 1981 annual, where Johnny and Wulf arrive in a frontier town which is under threat from a bunch of lizard/reptilian aliens, and one of the few who resists is an older woman.

We didn't get any of the Annual stories not by Carlos, and to be honest that's fine by me!

[Jade Falcon]

I thought it was a Carlos story but I freely admit I may be wrong as it's been so long since I read it.

[sintec]

Thanks for the nudge on those Dare volumes IndigoPrime. I'm just starting volume 2 and it's been cracking stuff so far ,very glad I picked them up. I could live without the annual stories which were all a bit meh but that's a minor quibble when the main feature is such high quality thrillpower.

Right now anything that gets us more Belardinelli in the extension gets my vote.