Tharg’s 2020 in Review - Best trade / collection / GNs

[Colin YNWA]

It's those days before X-mas when lots of folks have got nothing better to do than produce lists of the best things of the year. Best albums, best films, Best pandemic virus, best rejected voter fraud law suite. Best everything. And while we might be forgetting what day it is we're nerds. We forget nothing, NOTHING of those lovely comics we've read. So let's start making list with a series called 'Tharg's 2020 in Review'

Okay so this one has taken some work BUT wow what a year it's been for collected editions. So let's celebrate the fact that Tharg kept us entertained with lovely shiny items from both his Thrill Vault but also the increasingly insanely brilliant Treasury of British Comics.

What is your favourite collection - well I'm hopefully going to provide a list in my next post in a sec of all the collections I can spot - please let me know if I've missed any.

Format is easy. Simply look at the list in the next post - and post your top three in a reply to this thread - just make sure to clearly indicate your order using the format below - with the points awarded for each placing:

(1st, foremost and best) = 5 points
(2nd runner up) = 3 points
(Bronze who cares really) = 1 point

If you don't make it clear I'll award all your mentioned votes 3 points each.

The vote will run for a week(ish) and I'll announce the winner early Sunday 3rd January... hopefully...

If you have any questions just ask and I'll wing it as normal...

[Colin YNWA]

For this list I've just included new collections or editions I've not included re-issues, or the same edition released in a different format - so no Nemesis the Warlock: The Early Heresies, or Faceache Vol. 1 for example. I've tried to put them in alphabetical order by title - but I've not really been much of a Librarian for a while now so that might have gone horribly wrong. I've also been too lazy to list the creators but ya know...

(Oh and no Hatchette Ultimate Collection either - see laziness but I want this to be about the House of Tharg specifically...)

AMERICA: LOST AND FOUND

BILLY'S BOOTS VOL. 1

CONCRETE SURFER

COR! BUSTER BUMPER FUN COLLECTION

DEATH SQUAD

ESSENTIAL JUDGE DREDD: AMERICA

JANUS STARK: VOL. 2

(THE COMPLETE) JOHNNY FUTURE

JUDGE DREDD: CASE FILES 35

JUDGE DREDD: CONTROL

JUDGE DREDD: MECHANISMO - MACHINE LAW

KINGDOM - ALPHA AND OMEGA

KINGMAKER - A LOST WORLD

MAJOR EAZY VS. RAT PACK

MASTERS OF BRITISH COMIC ART

NEMESIS THE WARLOCK: THE LATER HERESIES - LIMITED EDITION HARDBACK

ROY OF THE ROVERS: BEST OF 70S VOL. 1

ROY OF THE ROVERS: ALL TO PLAY FOR

ROY OF THE ROVERS: PRESSURE

SLAINE: THE HORNED GOD COLLECTOR'S EDITION

STRONTIUM DOG: SEARCH AND DESTROY

(THE BEST OF) SUGAR JONES

THIRD WORLD WAR

THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR VOL 02

(THE RISE AND FALL OF THE) TRIGAN EMPIRE - VOL 01

(THE RISE AND FALL OF THE) TRIGAN EMPIRE - VOL 02

WAR PICTURE LIBRARY: BATTLE STATIONS BY HUGO PRATT

WAR PICTURE LIBRARY: BATTLER BRITTON BY HUGO PRATT

WAR PICTURE LIBRARY: BATTLE OF BRITAIN BY IAN KENNEDY

[abelardsnazz]

1. Masters of British Comic Art. David Roach has put together a beautiful and fascinating collection.
2. Strontium Dog - Search and Destroy. Great to have the Starlord stories collected.
3. Judge Dredd - Mechanismo Machine Law. Wagner on great form with the recurring question of robot judges.

[broodblik]

1. The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire - Volume 1
2. Third World War
3. The Thirteenth Floor - Volume 2

[AlexF]

It's a Mills trifecta from me:

1) Third World War. An infuriatin comic, but in all the right ways. A dense read, too - it's not one you can rip through in a single sitting.
2) Nemesis, the later heresies - more beautiful than I could have imagined. Such black blacks!
3) Concrete Surfer. In all honesty, it's not that good a comic, but this is exactly the sort of thing I want from the Treasury - old British comics I've never heard of about niche things.

(with apologies to the Trigan Empire - it sure looks lovely but I can't bring myself to buy it because I fear it'd be dry as hell to actually read)

[sintec]

• Strontium Dog: Search And Destroy - exactly what I needed to round out the Ultimate Collection and in a lovely hardback. Also top notch Ezquerra art
• Judge Dredd: Control - Judge Pin is a superb baddy, shame she didn't hang around a bit longer to dog Dredd (also another lovely hardback edition)
• Kingmaker: A Lost World - I started buying the prog around when the second series started to run. Loved that so couldn't pass up the chance to grab the first series

Honorable mentions should go to a bunch of Ultimate Collection volumes which were bursting with thrillpower. In no particular order; Caballistics, Ampney Crucis, Flesh (mmmm Bellarinelli art), Firekind, Red Seas (can't wait for this to continue in the NY), and the incredible concluding volumes of Dante.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

For me, it's:

1st: Janus Stark vol 2
2nd: Complete Johnny Future
3rd: Concrete Surfer

SBT

[Eamonn Clarke]

1. Masters of British comic art
2. The Trigan empire vol 1
3.  Strontium Dog: Search and Destroy

Hm America lost and found

[Magnetica]

1 Search and Destroy

I'll leave it there.

[Colin YNWA]

Tough one this as there are so many great collections (etc) all of which have different things going for them. So I've tried to get a spread.

1st - Masters of British Comic Art - never has a coffee table book looked so good and introduced me to so many talents I feel I should have known. An absolute standout this one.

2nd - Hugo Pratt - Battler Briton - so Hugo Pratt and the more Hugo Pratt in the worlds the better - well the Treasury for digging these lost classics out.

3rd - America Lost and Found - I've avoided buying more versions of Nemesis, I've avoided so many other reprints but this one managed to be different and interesting enough to sucker punch me into buy this... again!

HM to Concrete Surfer and Sugar Jones - As Alex F said (if we were on talking terms  mumble mumble Cursed Earth and Tour of Duty not in top three mumble moan...) this is exactly what I want the Treasury to be doing introducing stunning books that otherwise would be utterly lost to me.

[Rogue Judge]

I havent read JUDGE DREDD: CASE FILES 35 yet, but will get to it pretty quick, I have a feeling this would be in my top three if I read it. Also, I am looking forward to more of the Essentail Dredd collection this year.

1. STRONTIUM DOG: SEARCH AND DESTROY - Hardback Strontium Dog with colour spreads, what a treat!! More of this please.
2. KINGDOM - ALPHA AND OMEGA - Kingdom is amazing, hoping for more soon. Reads great collected.
3. ESSENTIAL JUDGE DREDD: AMERICA was fantastic, I enjoyed the story in the Democray framework. Lots of value added with the re-coloured pages etc.

HM to KINGMAKER - A LOST WORLD - A pleasant surpirse, I LOVED this series and am looking forward to reading what happens next.

[rogue69]

1st; THIRD WORLD WAR
2nd; MAJOR EAZY VS. RAT PACK
3rd; CONCRETE SURFER

[Colin YNWA]

Going to close this one on Tuesday 5th first thing - so if you have anything to add please do today or tomorrow (Sunday or Monday).