The Comics Journal, arguably the best magazine on comics being published right now, has announced online subscriptions, and at half the price of its regular price. 30$ for 10 issues sounds EXTREMELY cool. I am probably opting for this starting next month. And they have also released issue 288 of TCJ online for free, just so you can check out how an issue looks online.
One of the nagging doubts I had about the Absolute Editions that DC is bringing out has been cleared. I bought Absolute League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 1 from a mall in Gurgaon, when a major discount was going on – ended up paying about 47$ for the volume, the original retail price being 75$. Imagine my surprise when I check out eBay prices and see that it was being sold for 180-250$. Absolute Planetary and Absolute Authority wre selling for even more. This was madness! This was Sparta! Why, I thought, was DC not keeping the books in print, considering the demand? Neil Gaiman provided the answer a couple of days ago, on his blog ( yes, Mr Gaiman tends to answer questions rather well ). When asked by someone the merits of buying an Absolute Edition of Sandman over buying the individual comics or the trade paperbacks, he said –
I’m not entirely sure that the Absolute Sandman replaces the trade paperbacks, any more than the trade paperbacks replaced the comics (because the covers and the ads and the letter column and all that stuff gives you an experience you don’t get from a trade paperback) and I don’t want to start turning into Elvis Costello, who has now sold me all of his music at least four times in ever-more-upgraded formats with extra bells and whistles.But if you want a permanent copy for your bookshelf, the Absolute Sandmans are as good as it gets. I don’t think they’re going to vanish from the book and comic shops immediately — DC have overprinted healthy amounts, certainly good for a few years to come — but they are probably too expensive per unit to go back to press in Hong Kong for smallish reprints.
That makes sense. And yeah, I am reading Absolute Sandman vol 1 right now, and gaaaaaaaaaah, I almost didn’t buy this?? It’s just a breathtakingly beautiful volume, the page and print quality mesmerizing, and with the extras that add value for money. Can’t wait to buy volume 2 when I have some spare cash.
The current To-Buy-Or-Not-To-Buy Object of Desire: The Complete Terry and the Pirates. Published by NBM publishing in 25 volumes covering the dailies and two colour Sunday hardcovers, I have a mailing list member selling 7 volumes plus the hardcovers for 100$. Now, IDW publishing is reprinting the series again in very beautiful hardcover editions. The downsides – a price of 50$ per 400-page volume, and I would have to wait for the reprints to get over, they are published quarterly and the current count is 4, I think.
Terry and the Pirates is one of the series I picked up through, surprise, Mad magazine parodies, much like Prince Valiant and Little Orphan Annie. It might be dated, but it’s a classic strip, Milton Caniff’s storytelling pure genius. To buy or not to buy, that is the question…
Update: Apparently, the 100$ price is for ALL 25 volumes plus the hardcovers. Nyahahahahah.
One of the nagging doubts I had about the Absolute Editions that DC is bringing out has been cleared
Phew, that’s a relief.