2000 AD - The Ultimate Collection

[Tomontherun94]

Yeah, I missed out on the subscriber books as I got the main issues and standard specials from Forbidden Planet. Funnily enough the Green Lantern sub exclusive books were all added to their online store with a pretty deep discount a couple weeks ago. That should have probably been a pretty big red flag tbh

[IndigoPrime]

If I were Hachette Partworks, I'd put serious thought into seeing whether it's viable to take over some of the big model sets that were nearing completion, like Ghostbusters. The goodwill would be immense. (Natch, there would be a great many complications in doing so, however.)

As for Eaglemoss, I suspect the lack of contact is down to there being no-one to do it. Smart of Hachette to at least reassure its own customers, though. (I have a small number of the Batman and DC books, some from Zavvi sales and mostly from a massive box of Batman books I bought off of someone local. They were good for getting some key stories in HC.)

[paulbyrnewex]

There is perhaps no one working at Eaglemoss to post any updates or a disgruntled ex employee changed all the passwords who knows ?

With their various partworks (models and graphic novels) Hachette did the right things to reassure its customers though there will some with incomplete collections nervous to start anything new or stop what they are collecting in fear of it nor been complete.  With the way the partwork market is at the moment Hachette may not extend 2000ad Ultimate Collection its really hard to know as the new Marvel and Dc collections seem to do well in my local newsagent.

[IndigoPrime]

Marvel is an easier ask. First, it has a lot more content to draw from. Secondly, the series was 'rebooted' and so two versions are running in parallel, giving Hachette a second bite of the cherry for what's essentially a reprint run.

With 2000 AD, we're at the point of diminishing returns. Most of what's available has been collected. Certainly, those strips that exist in digital and that wouldn't cannibalise Rebellion's own volumes are surely now mostly in the wild. There will be exceptions, sure, but enough for another ten books? 20? And how many subscribers are still on board?

I'll be amazed if the 2000 AD collection doesn't wrap as planned. But, honestly, I'm amazed – and grateful – it exists at all. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd have a complete set of Nikolai Dante or Red Seas in HC. And while there have been some downsides – a bit too much cruft in the initial 80 books; Hachette's irritating insistence on not putting titles on the spines – it's on the whole a great run.

[Blue Cactus]

I'm amazed – and grateful – it exists at all. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd have a complete set of Nikolai Dante or Red Seas in HC.

I heartily agree. As a cherry picker it's been a treat collecting those two series in lovely hardbacks, and quite a few others besides.  Having Kingdom and loads of John Smith, for example in this format - didn't think this would ever happen!

[leethomson]

Finally got around to Nikolai Dante and binged the whole series in a week. What an incredibly impressive (and violent, and funny, and sexy, and sad) piece of work. I'm going to choose to read the ending as "open." I had my heart broken too many times during the course of the series to end up having it completely shattered by the final three pages.

[Jim_Campbell]

Finally got around to Nikolai Dante and binged the whole series in a week. What an incredibly impressive (and violent, and funny, and sexy, and sad) piece of work.

Arguably the greatest series of the post-'Golden Age' prog to date. Certainly the most impressive long-form series 2000AD has run to date* — I don't think there's been another strip that's racked up so many episodes, at such consistent quality, whilst being unafraid to upend its own status quo on a regular basis. I won't deny there were books that landed better with some readers than others but, overall, it's a mighty piece of work.

* Brink might take this title**, but (without checking) I think it has a very long way to go in terms of episodes published.

** By which I mean strips that have a clear end in mind from the start. I dunno... maybe Dan and Ian reckon they can continue Brink indefinitely, in which case I'll disqualify it from this statement. Hopefully, though, you see the distinction I'm making between Dante and, say, Dredd, or Strontium Dog, or Slaine...

[IndigoPrime]

Yeah. Dante had a beginning, a middle and an end. It evolved and it concluded. Strontium Dog ended well, but that wasn't where it was supposed to stop. That was just luck. (And whatever Mills claims about Sláine, I will never believe it was the intent to end on that series. It feels like he was happy with it being the end, which is good for Mills, but that's an entirely different thing.)

[Jade Falcon]

Nikolai Dante was entertaining at the beginning, but slightly uneven as if it wasn't sure what it wanted to be, whether more comedy or series, but it very quickly evolved.  Even the slightly shaky first book had enough to keep me wanting more and look forward to the next.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Whether it means anything or not, my local WHS got *three* copies of the latest edition in yesterday (Sinister Dexter vol 5), which meant I was able to pick one up, having sussed they now stock it *behind the counter on the high shelf*, not actually on the shop floor like things they want people to buy. Previously we've been lucky to get a single one, and then not every time.

Anyway, I can't wait to get to this- despite at this point that looks like being Monday at the earliest.

SBT

[sintec]

What stories are we getting in that Sin Dex volume?

[IndigoPrime]

I don't recall ever seeing this collection in my WHSmith. Our McColl's got in the first issue, but that was it. (Our WHSmith is good for comics. It stocks almost everything you can think of, bar The Phoenix. But it doesn't do comic partworks very often.)

[The Monarch]

sinister dexter contains

and Death shall have no dumb minions

Festive spirits

[spoiler]Malone[/spoiler]

Places to go, People to do

pros and cons

Christmas Time

The Last Thing I Do

The Doctor is in

normal service

[Jade Falcon]

I don't recall ever seeing this collection in my WHSmith. Our McColl's got in the first issue, but that was it. (Our WHSmith is good for comics. It stocks almost everything you can think of, bar The Phoenix. But it doesn't do comic partworks very often.)

I barely see it in any shelves.  Very occasionally, but Smiths has been very good about ordering it for me.  There was only one hiccup and that when either a 2000ad or Dredd volume was badly damaged and a replacement had to be got.  It took a while but they got it.

It's easier to find odd parts of the Marvel or DC partworks on the shelf though.

[cropsy13]

The only thing I'd ever read of 2000 AD was Judge Dredd and watching the Future Shock documentary got me interested in the universe so I signed up when this was announced.

And I gotta say this collection has been an absolute godsend, I've discovered so many great new characters and books that quickly became favorites

- Nicolai Dante (Shot up to my top 5 books ever)
- Strontium Dog
- Grey Area
- The Mean Arena

The only issue is when this ends I'm gonna have to go and fill in gaps that the collection missed.