Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection discussion thread

[IndigoPrime]

Would the repro really be that bad from original comics (considering the advances of modern technology)? I think I would prefer that to actually missing a page of the story which is not good at all.

Modern technology can't easily deal with relatively low-quality prints on to crappy paper. Bear in mind that even relatively 'easy' repro — strong black and white line-art — from more modern editions of a story can suffer. (Black Hole in the Mek Files, for example.) With colour and much worse source material, this becomes a much bigger problem. For a single page, it's perhaps not a huge deal, but too many additions and a reprint project likely no longer becomes viable.

[TordelBack]

I agree entirely about retaining the Next Progs, and episode titles and recap boxes for that matter,

So how do you feel about more modern fare? Would the Brass Sun trade, for example, have benefitted from a bloody great logo every six or so pages, and loads of 'next prog' bits sprinkled about? I'd say it depends on the era, how much 'damage' is caused by any removal, and the availability of art along with associated costs.

Yup, all those are factors, as is the author's intention. I know we've been over this a dozen times before, but the important thing is that it isn't inherently better to remove the evidence of the original publication. It does (for example) T B Grover no favours to pretend they wrote Dredd epics as continuous graphic novels, rather than 26 brilliantly crafted episodes, but equally Mills' current Slaine works perfectly as a single long chapter. Zenith definitely loses something without its Next Progs; Nicolai Dante needs its historical guff, but its Next Progs add nothing. It all depends.

[glassstanley]

I don't think the repro problem is always to do with source material. The worst offender for me is the page from Father Earth where the two robots are sitting watching the Election broadcasts. All of the Letratone has been replaced with blocks of black, losing all of Bolland's detail. I can't find a single reprint prior to Rebellion's that has this error - it seems to have been introduced during the Case Files reproduction.

There seems to be an issue with contrast/brightness levels in general. The recent Dan Dare volume has lost detail in Belardinelli's artwork compared to the original printing, for example, some of the star systems are significantly reduced on the opening splash. 

With regard to the removal of the Next Prog boxes, the 'Brass Sun' isn't a fair comparison. This was designed with reprints in mind. The Next Prog boxes on older stories have been removed, but the story title & summary captions have been left intact (as this was how comic strips were presented back in the day). Removing the Next Prog just results in edited artwork, rather than improving the flow of the story.

[SuperSurfer]

Looking at original artwork like this:



and this:



...there isn't that much hope for the Letratone effects to survive intact if scanned from a printed publication such as on old Titan volume, let alone an aged, faded, printed prog.

I would be surprised if 2000AD chose to black in murky areas for the Case Files.

They might have had a better result using scans such as the top one I post here from Comic Art Fans but I don't know what the legal implications of that would be.

But I guess it's all about balancing quality and resources to make publications economically viable.

[SuperSurfer]

Don't know what happened to the top image (it disappears when I log out) but here is a link:
http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1169800

[abelardsnazz]

Just seen on the official site that issue 27 is Cursed Earth Koburn. Yet another new one on me so looking forward to that.

[Tjm86]

Just seen on the official site that issue 27 is Cursed Earth Koburn. Yet another new one on me so looking forward to that.

Ezquerra art and a riff on Major Easy. What's not to like!

[Apestrife]

Cool! Haven't read Koburn. I love the cursed earth. Looking forward to reading it!

Really hope Tour of duty is down the line. Wouldn't mind the main story in two volumes, with one extra sporting ToD-era Dredd not written by Wagner (from what I understand, there was quite a couple of those.)

[TordelBack]

Yeah, the ideal presentation for ToD in this collection would include the non-Wagner stories, which are genuinely good and actually sell the idea of Dredd's exile as a significant change in the strip. C'mon, there's 80 volumes to fill, be a shame to overlook so much good stuff!

[Link Prime]

Just seen on the official site that issue 27 is Cursed Earth Koburn. Yet another new one on me so looking forward to that.

First cherry-pick of 2016 sorted.

[IndigoPrime]

Curious back-up strip for Koburn: El Maldito. It's entirely appropriate, but surprisingly recent. Good to see that this collection won't necessarily back down from relevant content just because it's relatively new.

And a quick flick through of Paranoia suggests this is going to be one of the best monthly two-book sets to date. Lovely stuff.

[Buttonman]

I'm loving this series - so professionally put together with lovely books that smell so good when opened. Excellent content too and it's great they can chuck in new stuff if it fits the theme like the recent El Madito in the Koburn volume.

Downside is we are only 28/80 books and my self space is running out fast!

[TordelBack]

So what's in LowLife: Paranoia? Does it have the Hondo-City story (which I haven't read)?

[Max Headroom]

Please could someone also detail a list of all the stories featured in the Cursed Earth Koburn volume. This could actually be the first in the series that I pick up, as it does not look likely the character will ever get a trade paperback of his own from Rebellion.

[IndigoPrime]

From a flick through:

PARANOIA
Paranoia
Heavy Duty
Rock and a Hard Place
He's Making a List
Con Artist
Baby Talk
War Without Bloodshed

KOBURN
Sturm und Dang
Kuss Hard
Burial Party
The Assizes
Malachi
Going After Billy Zane
El Maldito