Available from today in two volumes. Digital First.
These are available through the iOs or Android Aps and from the webshop.
My article with a few preview pages & Full Contents - https://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/2000ad-digital-1st-red-seas-books-1-2-preview-pages/
Does "digital first" mean "print to follow" or "digital only"?
This is a genius idea, and at only twenty quid for the whole saga, it's bloody good value.
I hope there are plans for more bumper digital editions.
This, this is the beginning of the end.
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 11 March, 2015, 09:36:58 PM
This, this is the beginning of the end.
Not everyone has a shed you know.
It's certainly tempting me to trade the bulkier stuff for digital, and cherry pick hardbacks.
Quote from: Molch-R said in the in Press Release
2000 AD is proud to announce its first ever 'digital first' collection – the two volumes of Ian Edginton (Brass Sun, Hinterkind) and Steve Yeowell's (Zenith, The Invisibles) swashbuckling arcane adventure series, The Red Seas!
This is the first time 2000 AD has released a digital collection without a print edition.
Can read both that there will be and that there won't be a Paper Second version. I originally read it in the former sense. I can't be sure though.
For all the Paper Haters out there it is great news... I still prefer paper.
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 11 March, 2015, 09:36:58 PM
This, this is the beginning of the end.
Exactly. It was never meant to be like this...
I still prefer paper, even though I've started to slowly allow digital to creep insidiously into my life, but in this case is it rather not a case of some thing is better than nothing?
Yes
How could this be considered a bad thing? It's not like Rebellion's no longer issuing paper books. From what I can see, the choice is right now "no Red Seas collections" or "digital Red Seas collections". For fans, having something is surely better than nothing, like Colin said?
Yes.
We have resident technophobes who can't seem to grasp the concept that far more digital equipment is used in the actual production of paper comics than a digital file. :lol:
Hm, been in IT for 100 years so no technophobery here. That may be why I like my comics to be 'special' and either cover me in ink or - these days - smell a bit funny.
I detected some eye-rolling sadness in Doc X's post - I'm sensitive that way - and it struck a chord.
You've been in IT for how long!? No wonder you're sick of it. Did you start off trying to make smart munitions for the Western Front?
Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 12 March, 2015, 12:17:50 PM
You've been in IT for how long!? No wonder you're sick of it. Did you start off trying to make smart munitions for the Western Front?
100 binary, actually 4.
Hello, is this thing on?
Dr X is almost always bitter on this subject. Would you recommend turning him off and on again?
Quote from: Bat King on 12 March, 2015, 12:14:52 AM
For all the Paper Haters out there it is great news... I still prefer paper.
I love paper - unfortunately the size of flat I can afford to rent means I can't have as much of it as I'd like :(
Guys you know digital first usually means digital first print later right?
QuoteThis, this is the beginning of the end.
The beginning of the end of not having access to all of Red Seas?
Quote from: The monarch on 17 March, 2015, 10:28:48 PM
Guys you know digital first usually means digital first print later right?
It can't really 'usually' mean something in this case as it is the first Digital Furst from 2000AD. Hence speculation. Where would this forum be without wild speculation?
Any chance of a review there, Bat King? How does it work as massive digital edition? My buyin' finger is getting twitchy.
Digital-first simply means that particular collection is first on digital, nothing more. I imagine if it somehow sells like hot cakes, Rebellion might consider a print run, but be mindful this series has already had two aborted starts in paper. My hope is this bespoke collection might see other titles that perhaps aren't viable in print (or where a reprint isn't viable) being made more widely available in digital form.
To a paper fan like me it was a slog to get through :(
But it looks good, double pages display quite well on the reader on my PC and I assume will look better on a proper reader like a Kindle or Kobo (if these work on Kobo, no idea what is compatible with what).
Gonna nab these come payday, generally speaking Ye-Owl's double page spreads look a treat on the Ipad app.
Certainly better then in print when the center art gets lost in the gutter
Finally finished book 1. What a journey! Particularly enjoyed the shorter stories in the second half of the book (Newton vs Werewolves and the WW2 story). The WW2 story to close out book 1 really blew my mind actually, the scope of the series just seemed to grow enormously. No idea how this story plays out in book 2 but it's been great fun so far and I'll be starting book 2 imminently.
My previous Red Seas exposure was the very first story (the hardcover was really cheap on amazon) and the very last story which ran just as I started reading the prog so the majority of this was completely new to me which I'm sure helps. No jaded memories of later stories.
Also, I have to say, the identity of the Lost World Empress was a bit of a shock. Quite a dramatic change for that character, proabably TOO dramatic although I can just about live with it.
I think the main problem with Red Seas was how it ran in the Prog, rather than the story itself. I imagine it works rally nicely barreling along in collected form.
My re-read from the Progs certainly supports that - though to be fair I loved it when it was running so I'm possibly best not taken too much notice of (as ever!).
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 16 June, 2015, 10:28:56 AM
I think the main problem with Red Seas was how it ran in the Prog, rather than the story itself. I imagine it works rally nicely barreling along in collected form.
Is this to do with regularity? Or irregularity in this case I guess?
In part, I think it's down to the fact that it went on for so long and there wasn't a history of GN reprints to help readers catch up or jump on. With strips like Stickleback or Shakara it was fairly easy to be up to date if you joined at a later stage. As the Red Seas GN series never went beyond Vol 1 that option wasn't there. It's a shame, as there's a couple of decent phone book GNs there waiting to be printed.
For me, the gaps were big and I lost track of what's going on. And, as per the previous comment, lacking collections meant there was no convenient way to catch up.
Only just got round to taking the plunge on this and, despite some technical issues, I'm enjoying it much more than I remember doing when it ran in the prog.
Comments further up the thread about the nature of it's original serialisation not being the best way to ingest the story are spot on in my case. I began each new series in the prog with barely any recollection of the last, and in a state of confusion about who all the supporting characters were and what everyone was supposed to be doing. Collected like this, the story cracks along at a rollicking pace and really works fantastically well.
Also, whilst reading in the prog, I can remember being left with the impression that Steve Yeowell's art seemed sparse, lacked detail and featured half suggested backgrounds, but that's certainly not my impression on this re-read. The art looks amazing and the huge menagerie of mythical beasts and other-worldly locations really shows off Yeowell's brilliant imagination.
Or the art DOES look great, providing I don't try and read it in the 2000 AD app. You see, the technical issues I mentioned earlier are in the form of some pretty poor, low resolution reproduction of the pages on my Android device. I own a seven inch Android tablet, and the original pages are too large to be properly viewed on a screen that size. Unfortunately, when zoomed in to any degree, the images and text begin to pixellate and become grainy and blurred.
I found a compromise to solve this was to download the CBR files direct from the 2000 AD online shop, then use the Comic Rack app to read it. There is still a slight loss of resolution when zooming in, but it's nowhere near as bad as the 2000 AD app which almost rendered it unreadable.
It seems odd that these collections haven't been optimised to be viewed at the very best resolution on the bespoke app. As they are digital exclusives you would think that every effort would be made to ensure that the art was presented in the best way possible.
This niggle aside, I would wholeheartedly recommend these collections to any Squaxx. Not only fans of The Red Seas, but anyone who felt that the strip left them underwhelmed during it's serial run. This new collected format makes the story shine.
Hi Spaceghost, the issue has now been fixed, you'll just need to redownload the files.
Quote from: Molch-R on 29 September, 2015, 04:07:40 PM
Hi Spaceghost, the issue has now been fixed, you'll just need to redownload the files.
Brilliant. Thanks a lot Mike.
Yep. Just downloaded again and now both books are in pin sharp high definition.
Thanks tech people.
Superb!