2000 AD Online Forum

The latest Prog (or was it Meg?) has Tharg clutching a copy of the next Nikolai Dante collection, and it rather looks like the pirate stuff is being ignored, skipped, swept aside...for good or for bad.

I'm rather surprised and though I really enjoyed the latest stuff the ad in the Meg (or was it the Prog?) doesn't leave much room for mistake, what with the title and the lovely return of the co-creator cover from a few months ago.

Any thoughts, theories, random net based raving?

Uncollected material, including the "Pirate Dante" arc:

The Return of the Gentleman Thief - 24pp
The Romanov Job - 48pp
Hell and High Water - 53pp
Agent of Destruction - 60pp
How Could You Believe Me... - 24pp
Primal Screams - 24pp
Usurper - 18pp
The Depths - 12pp
Dragon's Island - 36pp

299pp


Presumed "Sword of the Tsar" collection:

Sword of the Tsar - 36pp
Deadlier than the Male - 18pp
Hellfire - 36pp
The Beast of Rudinshtein - 24pp
The Dissenter - 6pp
Thieve's World - 42pp

162pp


...Yeah, I'm a bit annoyed if 300 pages of story is being skipped in favour of a collection of material that has only recently seen print in the prog.

Hmm... color me disapointed if the Pirate Era is being skipped. I missed most of it due to coming on board 2000AD late, and I really really wanted to read it.

They better number the spine correctly.

I recently read the pirate arc all in one go - I know it wasn't particularly well received by the board whilst it was running - but I thought it was really good.  
If anything let it down it was the disjointed nature of how/when it was printed.  

I would be disappointed (and surprised) if it wasn't reprinted - the artwork was also fantastic in it.

I think a lot of the stories from thelast couple of years reads SO much better in collected form (tpb or many progs at once) than weekly.

I often felt that the pirate arc would have read a lot better if it had been published over less time than the four odd years it seemed to take. I was looking forward to reading it in one go. Shame if it doesn't happen.

I never understood what the gripe was with the pirate stuff, either. It worked from for me just fine as a reasonable change of pace and theme, and Burns' art was far superior to Fraser's (which was not bad).

However, I thought I saw a new Dante title when I was searching under 2000ad on Amazon recently, and I didn't think it was called Sword of the Tsar. Try searching for NIKOLAI DANTA: HELL AND HIGH WATER (including the spelling mistake). There's no cover, but the date of 15 March 2008 is given, and the title is suspiciously piratical in flavour... Only 192 pages, however.

Regards

Robin

I'm not a huge fan of painted comic art (there are exceptions)and I am a big fan of Fraser's Dante work but John Burns efforts on Dante are something else - absolutely fantastic stuff, the man always gives 100%.

Worry not. Hell and High Water is certainly the next collection. Nothing will be skipped. It was a wee hiccup so apologies there. There will be a Sword of the Tsar collection too.

Good news, Jon - and thanks for stepping in to clear it up so quickly! I'll certainly be looking forward to both :-)

::"Burns' art was far superior to Fraser's"

Your mouth is full of wrong.

Your mouth is full of wrong.

Eh. I think both have strengths and weakness, and both add something unique to Dante. Burns was easily the best choice for the Tzar Wars arc, and maybe even the "Pirate" stuff. But Frasier is the better artist for the more political/character centric stuff of the Early days/Sword of the Tzar stuff.

All though, as a personal opinion, I think Frasier's lost something in his return, he's lost detail in his art, or he needs a better colorest.

::"Burns' art was far superior to Fraser's"

Kill him! He is a Witch!

You've missed a couple there...

Hell & High Water:

The Return of the Gentleman Thief - 24pp
The Romanov Job - 48pp
Hell and High Water - 53pp
The Sea Falcon - 10pp
Agent of Destruction - 60pp
 = 195pp

"Sword of the Tsar" collection:

How Could You Believe Me... - 24pp
Primal Screams - 24pp
Devil's Deal - 10pp
Usurper - 18pp
The Depths - 12pp
Dragon's Island - 36pp
Sword of the Tsar - 36pp
 = 160pp

"Hellfire" collection:

The Road of Bones - 10pp
Deadlier than the Male - 18pp
Hellfire - 36pp
The Beast of Rudinshtein - 24pp
The Dissenter - 6pp
Thieve's World - 42pp
The Chaperone - 42pp ?
 = 178pp

And how do I know what's coming next? Why just sidle over to this link and see for yourself. Can't make out the artist, but I like everything except the face.

Link: Clicky, Clicky. Catchee monkey. (Oh, and see next

"Frasier's lost something in his return"

Eh? Haven't they milked the Cheers franchise to death yet?

Is there something wrong with his face on that cover ? Looks kinda odd to me.

His neck appears to be growing out of his left shoulder at an odd angle.  Kev Crossley by the looks of it - nice monsters, odd humans.

Strange. I saw a copy of the Hell & High Water TPB in Borders on Monday, but it still wasn't in FP today.

same with Mandroid, it wasnt at FP, but at Waterstones!!!

Which in terms of priority is how it should be. The books should be being got into mainstream shops as a matter of course.

I've always found FP to be erratic in terms of what they stock as it's usually down to individual clerks ordering. Let them know you want the bloody things.

I've always found FP to be erratic in terms of what they stock as it's usually down to individual clerks ordering. Let them know you want the bloody things.

True but, by and large, the Glasgow one is pretty on the ball. They even have a whole separate section for the 2000AD trades.

I'm with Robin on this. Fraser's was not bad in any way, but I like Burns' art much better.
It's just a matter of taste