Thursday, September 04, 2008

Uncollected: Comics crying out for a reprint.....

Over the years I've seen many comics and owned a lot. And thanks to my decidedly obsessive nature with space I've gotten rid of a lot of comics. I've sold them, given them away, passed them on, cut them up for displays and even used a few as wallpaper (I was young, give me a break).

But now that I am old and I can look back with wonder at my youth I can also lament some of those comics that I had or remember reading. We're all very fortunate right now to be living in an era where so much of the material published will be collected for posterity. But there are some notable exceptions. I was thinking rather obsessively about this the other day and started, as we aging men do, to make a list .......

But of course, a list is only as good as the listmaker's memory. So it would be much better, thinks I, to open it up to various friends of the blog and see what we can all come up with. Of course, you can get involved as well - that's what the comments box is for!

The only rules I set for it were:

The work had to have been published completely in the past. So take Big Numbers by Alan Moore off the list straight away.
Previously collected material is allowed as long as it's almost impossible to get hold of now. (I'm thinking Brenden McCarthy's Swimini Porpoise or Alan Moore's Bojeffries Saga here).

Before I get started I must point out that this is pretty much identical to the Reprint This idea done by Hipster Dad. I only realised this when I tripped over his name and the idea on this FPI post when googling about Zenith. I hope nobody minds the duplication of ideas etc etc. Obviously you should all head over to his site for a little look-see as well.

That's about it.... now on with the first, most obvious couple:

Marvelman / Miracleman. by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman et alPossibly the most requested uncollected on the list. One of the biggest pieces of Alan Moore's work that's completely unavailable, this exploration of the Supehero mythology is sadly missing from too many shelves.

The four volumes by Alan Moore et al (Volumes 1-3) & Neil Gaiman & Mark Buckingham (Volume 4) have long been out of print. At some point in the future all of the various copyright and ownership problems are going to be resolved and we'll finally see the reissuing of all 4 Miracleman books. (Although some notice would be nice and then I can get my copies onto Ebay). After that of course it would also be nice to let that lovely Mr Gaiman chap finish the story off like he planned to do all those years ago.

miraclemanbook1.jpg

Marvelman links:
Wiki
, The Super Miracle of Captain Marvelman, Sequart article, Cover Browser, Fictions, Hipster Dad's Reprint This.

Zenith by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell

Zenith's back? Oh, how we wish it were so. Possibly the second most requested one on the list. This story of the Thatcherite superhero and more multiple Earths than even DC would no what to do with is much missed.

A few years ago the possibility of this getting back into print were quite high, and copies of volume 1 were sitting in a warehouse waiting for final go ahead. Unfortunately copyright disagreements between Morrisonand Fleetway/Rebellion have led to those copies, together with the plans for all of Zenith (including the as yet uncollected Phase V) being put into limbo. Maybe sometime, but no signs of it being sorted soon.

zenith.jpg

Zenith Links:

Wiki, Zenith History, CBR article, Hipster Dad's Reprint This.

And that's it for now, just a tease at the idea which continues here at the FPI blog: The Uncollecteds. Lots and lots of great comics, many you'll remember, but I guarantee that you'll find at least one to surprise you.

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