Who is buying the Titan books?

[DavidXBrunt]

Sure we all have a wish list of books we'd love to see but I'm wondering how many of the currently released books you've all bought and will be buying. Obviously the upcoming books are subject to change but I'm basing this on what we've been told is due. As for myself.

JUDGE DREDD - I've bought all four of the Ennis scripted books (Emerald Isle, Death Aid, Goodnight Kiss, and Helter Skelter). I'll also be buying the upcoming Muzak Killer and Innocents Abroad (although it would have been nice if that story and Emerald Isle had been collected in one volume with 'When Irish Pies Are Smiling').

LIBRARY EDITIONS - I've bought Judge Death and Slaine the King. Cursed Earth, The Day the Law Died, and Nemesis will also be definite buys. I'm not sure about the Rogue Trooper Volume.

THE REST - Halo Jones, Skizz, and A.B.C. Warriers bought so far. The Zenith Books if they ever arrive will be definates, as will Strontium Dog. D.R. & Quinch I wont buy as I've got most of the content from recent Megazines, the same goes for Bad Company. Missionary Man I already have the stories so I'll probably pass on that.

So what have you bought, or will you be buying.

[paulvonscott]

I am allergic to Ennis, so I can't buy them or I come out in hives (here we go again).

From when I was a fan last (eighties) I have almost all the titan books, so obviously I'm not bothered about any re-reprints.  Glad they are available for other people though.

Zenith , Strontium Dog and Nemesis if it's a complete set.

Most of the stuff I really want probably won't see print.  Ace Garp, RoboHunter etc.  I can understand that, as far as most people are concerned they are dead strips.

So the upshot is not as many as I'd be willing to buy.

[Leigh S]

I'll be buying the Strontium Dog book, and hoping that the Killing, Moses Incident, Outlaw,  Ragnarok Job, Rage etc. follow swiftly on.

As for books already out - I can be tempted to buy if they contain new art (covers/sketches etc) and new interviews/introductions.  Otherwise they'll stay on the shelves.  I'm not rabidly anti-Ennis. IMO, he did OK on his first run of Dredds, but they're by no stretch good enough to be collected over Wagner stuff.  This is fine though, as these books aren't aimed at me.  That said, a little intro to these books by Garth might have tempted me, especially if he'd dish more dirt on the editorial differences he had with Tharg at the time.

[Leigh S]

Actually, IIRC, Garth complained about being rewritten on his 2000AD work at the time - it would have been interesting (and a definite purchase!), if these had been "Directors Cuts", with Garth restoring any changes made to the scripts (where possible obviously).

[paulvonscott]

I forgot to add that although Garth Ennis is the only comic writer I refuse to read, and he's probably a nice bloke, like a nun or something, I think it's probably a good idea to reprint his stuff as the market must be pretty big, maybe even bigger than the Dredd market.

[Buddy]

I know Garth and he is indeed a 'nice bloke', but not a nun. And I agree with you, I can't get my head around why he is so popular. That Helter Skelter thing he produced was awful - all over the place. It has to be said that the majority of material he has produced has been average at best.

I never got caught up in the whole Preacher thing either, (although I bought the Megazine when it reprinted the first issue, just to see what exactly it was I was missing, I never bought the Megazine again after that).

What exactly is Garths populatiry?

He must surley be the luckiest man in comics.

Discuss

[paulvonscott]

Er... well, it's vastly off topic but...

I've often thought his ideas for plots, or the plots themselves have been very good.  There was one in Hellblazer before I quit that made me go ooh, that was clever, nice one.  I still hated reading it, but I had to admire the plot behind it.

I think people enjoy his style of writing, for me it's like drinking windolene, I can't get away with it.  A no-nonsense visceral, crude, raw, violent, humerous style, which is certainly different and distinctive from just about everything else out there.  And if I can chuck in a lazy comparison(and you probably can't get lazier), it has the guts of a bloody quentin tarantino movie.

Which, combined with a good plot, must give people something they are after. Maybe he just gives them what they want.  

Oh and poaching Carlos Ezquerra who could probably make any story seem good (he barely needs a scriptwriter) wasn't a bad move either.

I'm sure his rise to insanely popular comic boffin must have had some element of luck, like anyone in the business has (and well done on that luck) but there has to be more to it than that.  If it was just luck, he'd have been caught out by now.  So, fair play to him, he's doing something right.

All I pray is that he keeps away from characters I like.  His name is so big now that of course, I appreciate it makes perfect financial sense to let him write Dredd, if I was editor, I probably wouldn't think twice about it for a bit of promotion, the dirty old prossie I am.

It's all a matter of personal taste which is compeltely unquantifiable anyway.  I know loads of people who like Ennis, I am in the vast minority, something I have to live with.

It was his writing that was the catalyst to me junking comics for ten years.  Things were pretty sparse anyway when he took over Dredd, which was at that time the only thing I was still buying 2000AD for he also and ruined Chopper, my favourite character.  So I quit 2000AD, after many years, utterly fed up with it.  I also had to quit Hellblazer (another character ruined for me, cheers Garth) and then there wasn't much left, so I quit altogether.  

The only thing that got me started on 2000AD again (it's like smoking tabs, you know you it's probably not good for you, but you can't help it) was Andy Diggle's reign where he brought back some of the characters I could identify with (I no longer even knew if Rogue was blue anymore).  I of course stopped buying it when Helter Skelter was in, mainly after reading the first one in Smith's.

I don't dislike the bloke cos I don't know him (maybe if he dressed as a nun...), some of his comments, especially those about his Dredd strips, make me think he's alright.  As long as he keeps away from characters (my preciouses) I like, all the best to him.

Anyway, that is my entire repertoire on Ennnis the Menace (Like dennis the menace but with more demonic buggery).  I don't consider it anti-Ennis bile, but it sure is one hell of an aversion.

Cheers

Paul

[JamieB]

David - the first Rogue book won't be a hardcover. Still no word on Zenith, I'm afraid.

*J*

[JamieB]

I don't know about Ace Garp, but I'd imagine we might look at Robo-Hunter next year.

*J*

[JamieB]

Well, its a lovely idea, but to get the strips re-drawn, rewritten, relettered etc... would probably have made the books ludicrously expensive...

*J*

[paulvonscott]

Ooohh really?

I guess unlike a lot of strips it has a beginning and an end (of sorts) and it's fun, not hard to get into and easy to enjoy.

I would have thought robohunter might be the sort of comic that would do well in Europe.  Of course, at this point I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I know a complete collection is too much to hope for, but I look forward to whatever we are given.

[JamieB]

If we do anything, we'll likely as not do as we have with the other strips - and head back to the beginning (or thereabouts).

*J*

[paulvonscott]

No, makes perfect sense to me.

One thing I would point out (which I guess you already know) is that sales might be a bit lower for the first few books (that have already been printed) than the later ones, because a few people have them.  

That makes sense.  But please don't see the figures and say 'well the first few didn't sell as much as we'd hoped let's not bother with the later ones'.  The ones that would eventually sell more.

It's something that happens a lot with TV series on video I've noticed.  The company relesase the first series, which most people have (from a previous release by another company) and then they don't release the unreleasd ones because they just see poor sales figures and look bemused.

I'd be willing to consider advance ordering books I didn't have, to ensure this wasn't going to happen!

[JamieB]

Stay cool, PVS - we have no plans to discontinue anything just yet.

Pre-ordering stuff is a good thing to do, IMHO. Warren Ellis makes a good case for it somewhere online (his site's down atm, otherwise I'd link ya).

*J*

[paulvonscott]

Oh I know, but I still can't get me second series of Tripods on DVD.

Well, bung in free postage and get them to me straight off the press and I'll send you my credit card details.