reprints reprinted

JamieB · 16 January, 2004, 07:17:32 PM

"fans wouldn't rip off niche publishers"

Wrong. I've seen 2000AD torrents already, and other indie publishers are affected as well.

J-Bo-1

JamieB · 16 January, 2004, 07:19:33 PM

PVS - all of those things are on my Big List. You can definitely expect to see GNs from that range of titles within the year. More info to follow as and when, as ever.

J-Bo-1

Matt · 16 January, 2004, 07:23:56 PM

Jamie, are Rebellion finally going to publish all the epics in order? I'd love to read The Robot War again. How about a numbered series of volumes so we could follow continuity in order? Or putting relevant storylines together, all the Democracy stories for example. I'd even buy Purgatory & Inferno if they came together, just because I can't be bothered digging the relevant back progs out.

paulvonscott · 16 January, 2004, 07:25:28 PM

The piracy thing is true, people will copy them, somehow. Everything created digitally gets pirated really.

Maybe that needs to be balanced against the fact that almost everyone has the equipment at home to pirate comics in a digital form. Where I see this happening is largely comics (not 2000AD as far as I know) that are no longer printed and have been abandoned by their publisher. That's not to say it isn't any less illegal.

There was Passion8's cover archive was the only digital thing I've heard of.

I imagine if some viewing software was available (and I find it strange there isn't in the days when kodak stop making film cameras).

The Amstor Computer · 16 January, 2004, 07:27:58 PM

"Wrong. I've seen 2000AD torrents already, and other indie publishers are affected as well."

Wouldn't be at all surprised - you used to be able to download the entire Eagle Comics Judge Dredd reprint series from one of the alt.binaries newsgroups. It's just that kind of place that scans of more unusual titles flourishes - along with JD, you could grab the complete Black Hole & Xenozoic Tales. I used to check them out every now & then, and I remember one poster who put all of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing online, complete with covers, ads & letter pages.

Darryl · 16 January, 2004, 07:28:59 PM

A while ago, I bought a copy of the Dragon Magazine Archive - 300 issues of said magazine in PDF format spead across 4 discs. Now, why cant 2000ad do the same? admittedly it cost me near on 50 quid, but I do look at it all the time, and my 'proper' copies dont get a look in anymore because I have the discs.

Would this be a way forward? rebellion could always do it across issues 1-100 201-300 etc to spread the costs.....

IndigoPrime · 16 January, 2004, 07:34:04 PM

:: Unless you just stuck a load of pdf files on a DVD, but whose going to pay out for that?

Me, for one.

Matt · 16 January, 2004, 07:51:52 PM

Well that told me ;)

JamieB · 16 January, 2004, 07:54:06 PM

While I'm quite intent on doing most or all or as many as possible of the DREDD epics, I'm not going anywhere near doing them in any kind of order, save where it's obviously necessary (so Orlok stuff before The Trial, Oz before Song of the Surfer, yadda yadda). Long-running stories that have die-hard must-read-in-order continuity like DANTE, sure, I'll do those in order.

J-Bo-1

Art · 16 January, 2004, 07:59:14 PM

How bouta big fat single volume Bad Company running up to the end of the Krool Heart? You know it makes sense...

Matt · 16 January, 2004, 07:59:40 PM

Dante GNs! When? Must have now!

IndigoPrime · 16 January, 2004, 08:24:42 PM

Ultimately, the problem with long-running serials is that the collections will almost certainly never be completed. This is my worry with Dante GNs. Wasn't the plan to release them over a period of several years? What happens, then, when sales dip after the initial interest wanes? We end up with yet another incomplete set (just as we have with stuff from Titan, Hamlyn, et al).

The limited demand on things like Meltdown Man, to pick but one story, means the chances of it every being reprinted is near to zero. However, the level of interest in de-facto complete reprints of all 2000 AD material is likely to be much higher, but ONLY if it's good value (which, quite frankly, the digital archives are not - but then they were aimed at people who already had the issues and wanted to keep their originals pristine).

Darryl - that was the exact thing I was thinking of.

starscape · 16 January, 2004, 09:09:27 PM

Why not a secure area of the website which has a pay-per-download on it?

Or a made-to-order CD/ DVD of many of the less glamorous stories? Convert Flesh, Harlem Heroes or MACH1 to Flash or Quicktime then burn off a copy each time one is ordered. Or let another company (e.g. SuperHeroStore MultiMedia) do that and cream a percentage off for no cash investment.

JamieB · 16 January, 2004, 09:20:08 PM

On The List. But I dunno whether it'll be one or two volumes yet.

J-Bo-1

JamieB · 16 January, 2004, 09:21:19 PM

Re: Dante...

Eventually, and most likely coming out every four months once they start (handy for relists, y'see).

J-Bo-1