What, no Action! reprints?

[AlexF]

Now I'm sure this question has been answered somewhere before, but in amongst all the many goodies being collected for the first time by Rebellion's Treasury wing, why haven't they reprinted anything from Action! yet?
It's always being touted as the precursor to 2000AD,and surely they must own the rights as part of the giant bundle. No?

I know Hookjaw has been collected by Hibernia (the edition I have, and lovely it is too), and I think again by Titan comics, and I gather that's by far the best strip from Action, but what of the rest? I've long wanted to read Dredger, Kids Rule OK and Death Game 1999 in particular, and I can't be alone in this, can I?
Is it just that these stories aren't really good enough to merit the reprint treatment, or is there some rights issue going on?

[maryanddavid]

Not Hibernia guv, although  I'd like to have

[broodblik]

I also would like some Action reprints because I never had access to the comic

[Richard]

Although Action is an important part of 2000AD's history, the stories weren't that great really.

[CalHab]

Although Action is an important part of 2000AD's history, the stories weren't that great really.

This applies to much of 2000AD's early material as well, to be honest.

[AlexF]

Although Action is an important part of 2000AD's history, the stories weren't that great really.

I feared this might be the case!
Is there mileage in, perhaps, a bagged mini-trade with the Megazine, that reprints a handful of individual episodes of some key stories, interspersed with some comics history articles about the impact of the comic at the time - you know, a bit like Matt Smith's excellent Nemesis treatise (or whatever he called it)?

So who DID collect up Hookjaw a bunch of years ago..? I fear my copy is stuck in a box in my attic so not easy to check just now. Anyway, that strip at least is every bit as good as Shako!, and, for me, better even than Flesh...

[Bolt-01]

From memory - didn't Strip start to collect Hookjaw? - Jim Campbell was doing restoration work on it iirc.

[Jim_Campbell]

From memory - didn't Strip start to collect Hookjaw? - Jim Campbell was doing restoration work on it iirc.

Egmont did a digital-only collection on Comixology using some of those pages, so I'm assuming the rights reverted to them after Strip disappeared. That version is now nowhere to be found, but there does appear to be an 'archive' digital edition using the original (untweaked) pages that's published by Titan, who also published the new version by Spurrier/Boyle, so I'm assuming Titan has the rights these days, although possibly not to the 'remastered' pages.

[maryanddavid]

AlexF,  Spitfire comic.
I think it's a guy called Chris Smille(sp?) that was behind it. He also published a comic called Starscape which had reprints of The Leopard from Lime Street.

[The Amstor Computer]

Egmont did a digital-only collection on Comixology using some of those pages, so I'm assuming the rights reverted to them after Strip disappeared. That version is now nowhere to be found, but there does appear to be an 'archive' digital edition using the original (untweaked) pages that's published by Titan, who also published the new version by Spurrier/Boyle, so I'm assuming Titan has the rights these days, although possibly not to the 'remastered' pages.

AFAIK, Action and all the strips therein should have gone to Rebellion when they acquired that chunk of the IPC/Fleetway archives from Egmont a couple of years back. The Hookjaw reprint from Titan in 2017 (and any other reprints from around the same time) I would imagine were arranged between Egmont and Titan ahead of the Rebellion deal, the same as the Hookjaw/Johnny Red reboots that Titan published.


I was very impressed with the remastering of it for Strip - really sympathetic stuff, and it looked lovely.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Although Action is an important part of 2000AD's history, the stories weren't that great really.

True enough. I enjoyed them immensely just for the fun of seeing what the creators thought they could get away with in a kids' comic.  It's mind-boggling really; not just the violence but the smoking, underage boozing (and that's the hero of the story) and at least a vague hint of swearing ('up the Khyber').

[EddieHitler]

If anyone is reading this from Rebellion/TBC I think Look Out for Lefty could warrant a reprint?

Has it ever been reprinted?

[sheridan]

If anyone is reading this from Rebellion/TBC I think Look Out for Lefty could warrant a reprint?

Has it ever been reprinted?

"Anyone" generally would be Robo-Keef!

[EddieHitler]

Thank you Sherry...So if Robo-Keef is reading this....maybe?

To make matters worse though I have a copy of Martin Barker's Action book at home and if I remember rightly it reprints LOFL............though in my defence I have not opened it for quite some time so I can not remember if all of it is there.


 

[Tjm86]

True enough. I enjoyed them immensely just for the fun of seeing what the creators thought they could get away with in a kids' comic.

I think that is really the thing with Action.  Re-reading it, it does not age well at all.  There is a lot that is well worth a skim read at best.  As a part of Tooth history specifically and UK comic history in general though, it does bear closer inspection.  The issue of what strips caused offence and why is well worth consideration. 

Ezquerra's infamous cover illustrates this significantly.  A poor Lord of the Flies Knock Off sets honourable members in a tizzy?  This was at the same time that Para's were gunning down British citizens in one of the principalities.  Never mind the sort of practices against children that were considered appropriate in so many professions that were supposed to care for them.