BOB 'N DALE DC COLLECTED EDITIONS ARCHIVE Here's a transcript of the Bob 'N Dale posts from the official DC website news page. If you want to read them straight from the page go there. I don't know how long DC will keep their archives intact before purging them, so for posterity's sake, I'll be logging the entries here. "Collected Editions Responds" is an opportunity for Dale Crain and Bob Greenberger to take on questions posed by fans of DC's collected editions. New responses come out on a generally weekly basis. If you want to pose a question that you want Bob and Dale to tackle, post it up on this thread at the Official DC Archives message boards: Starting the Dialogue. Bob encouraged me to pass on to fans of DC Comics that he reads all the posts on the official boards and my own DC Archives boards and wants everyone to know that their opinion counts. That said, here's the rundown on all the Bob 'N Dales from weeks past (questions posed are in bold, responses in italics:) #1: 8-5 Hi everyone. Bob & Dale here, to thank you for the questions, comments and pleadings. We've read all the posts, many of which were pleas for favorite titles to be collected, and will answer a large selection of comments below. Some questions are beyond our scope of knowledge while others (such as boxers or briefs) are really best left to the imagination. First of all, as the bookstore business becomes increasingly important, we need to work further ahead. As a result, we already have 2004's Archives mapped out as well as 60% of the collected editions. Changes will continue to occur so things we thought we'd present in 2003 got delayed until next year and some shipping dates got tweaked. Since things do remain somewhat voluble up until we solicit, we're loath to reveal much of our plans and get you excited for something and then have to disappoint you when its delayed. In other words, even though we know what's coming next year, you'll have to wait as information is locked down and then revealed. Many questions dealt with the frequency of titles being released in the Archive series and whether or not we remain committed to every series we have started. Of course we are committed to these series, otherwise we wouldn't be launching them. Frequency has a lot to do with available materials, the number of approved books in a given year and other marketing factors. Onward to the questions. Do you anticipate that the number of DCU Archives will increase from the 14 projected for this year? I'd like to echo Osgood's question about the total number of volumes for 2004. This helps me budget and will help me make good decisions should you ever produce more than I can afford. For example, I might buy NEW TEEN TITANS 2, but it's an extremely low priority for me. I'd hate to buy that in the beginning of 2004 only to find out by the end of 2004 that I'm unable to afford a volume that I really want because you've increased production. DC has experienced a long, steady growth in the number of Archives since the program was initiated a decade ago. It's likely that the number of volumes in 2004 will increase by a few titles. Along the way, we need to balance Golden Age vs. Silver Age, existing series, new series and work to be reconstructed where film does not exist and those volumes that do have film available. With a slight rise in the total number of DC Archives, you can expect a stable number of SPIRIT, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS and ELFQUEST ARCHIVES. Can you share with us any information regarding past Archive volumes that sold either well above or below expectations? DC does not share sales data but as we have mentioned on the message boards in the past, SGT. ROCK was a pleasant surprise. You can expect his second volume before the year is out. Any thoughts on rolling out some Weisinger SUPERBOY TPBs to capitalize on the popularity of the Smallville TV show? Smallville has been depicted in numerous ways over the years and rather than produce a trade that in no way resembles the series and could therefore confuse readers new to comics, we're looking at a collection from the current bi-monthly title. Do you anticipate any new "genre" introductions with next year's releases? (i.e. western, horror, science fiction, etc.) It's safe to say that one of the Silver Age's most in-demand characters will be featured in an Archive next year. Work has already begun on ADAM STRANGE ARCHIVE VOL. 1. We've examined other genres and will no doubt get to them in due time. Is SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER being collected from beginning to end? SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE is one of those titles WE think would work better today than when the initial collection was released. As a result, for Christmas, we will be collecting the first two story arcs, comprising issues #1-8. Should sales warrant, we'd be happy to continue the series. Any chances of Paul and Ringo getting back together? Boy, wouldn't that be sweet! Thanks for all your comments and questions. We'll continue to read everything posted and answer selected questions each week. #2: 8-13 On the Archives front: It seems from the yearly Archives survey that the Marvel Family is very popular, and I know I love 'em. Any chance of fast-tracking the Big Red Cheese, and/or starting up a second line focusing on the Marvel Family? We're fond of the Big Red Cheese, too, but with only so many slots, it's hard to find room for more SHAZAM! offerings. That being said, we do have some trade paperback plans for 2004 so that should help satisfy your appetite. What are the Archive plans for Jack Kirby's DC work? Will we see any of his golden age or 1970s work in hardcover soon? We finally started collecting Jack's work with this month's CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN ARCHIVES. His later work has come up in discussions but right now, you should be happy seeing this month's JIMMY OLSEN: ADVENTURES BY JACK KIRBY VOL. 1. Will JLA be continued annually at this point? When will you know? When will WE know? Ditto SA Flash and SA Green Lantern. No single title has been guaranteed an annual place in our schedule. Availability of material, overall sales, the need to strike particular balances of overall characters and eras will determine each year's plan. At least one of those three is slated for a 2004 appearance. Will DC do a Charlton Heroes archive? We have some very preliminary plans in the works and trust us, we'd love to get some of that classic Steve Ditko material back into print. By the time the SPIRIT ARCHIVES are complete, will they have included the Herald Tribune story, the Spirit Jam, the Warren/Kitchen Sink covers/spots, the Kitchen Underground one pagers and covers, the Quality covers, the Spirit Bag information, The Harvey origin story? In other words, will they be exhaustively complete? Our plans are to collect the Sunday sections in their entirety. If sales remain good we're sure we would explore doing the peripheral material. #3: 8-26 Now the Karate Kid #1 showed up in LEGION 12. Will there be any more? I really liked the text piece and would be perfectly satisfied with never seeing another issue of KK in the archives. Last year we turned to the Message Boards for your feedback on this topic and it was a hotly contested one. As seen in this year's LEGION ARCHIVES VOL. 12, we have decided to go with the Legion-centric issues of KARATE KID. For completeness' sake, the covers of the issues NOT being collected were used in Bob's article in the back of the volume. Can you give a bit of insight into the decision behind the upcoming Digest Collections of the Cartoon Line? Obviously the size and price seem to be a reflection of the material published by both TokyoPop and Viz for the bookstore market. Is this an avenue DC plans on pursuing more aggressively in the coming year? DC has always explored new packages and markets for its material and the quest never ends as we seek new readers. DC is considered the pioneer of the modern day collected edition and we helped pave the way for all the other publishers to enjoy placement in chain bookstores around the country. In talks with the bookstore buyers, and our own study of trends in the book publishing field, we decided to sample different formats with non-super-hero material. In September you will see that with the first compact edition of ELFQUEST: WOLFRIDER VOL. 1 and the POWERPUFF GIRLS digests. They are slightly differently sized, ELFQUEST to rack better alongside the Manga imports and the POWERPUFF books to be racked in the young readers' section. With the Neal Adams' Treasuries and Joe Kubert's TOR, are there any plans to spotlight any other artists? Personally, I'd love a hardcover book of Brian Bolland's covers, or Nick Cardy's. We do plan some different kinds of collections, very similar to what you mention. We feel that both the Direct Sales market and the bookstore market have reached a point where we can try different styles of books from the ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY to the PREACHER: DEAD OR ALIVE cover collection. How does Rick Keene do what he does Part Ju Ju, part Fractal Theory. Seriously, as Dale outlined in his recent Comic Buyers' Guide interview, Rick uses a computer and scanner to turn the page into a digital image and then clean up the black line for the art and lettering. It's a time-consuming and exacting process which is why so few people do this for a living. How is the cover image for an archive arrived at? Dale usually selects it or assigns it himself - with Georg Brewer's OK. Since he looks over and proofs every page, he keeps an eye out for the most iconic or memorable image that will work in the format. How long will it be until we see further volumes of the DOOM PATROL archives? We'd say about a year. #4: 9-30 What's the feeling internally at DC on whether, and how fast, the clock is ticking on Golden Age material in terms of the longevity of (what I have to assume to be) its chief audience--baby boomers and those who are slightly older than baby boomers? In particular, is there a target year for "finishing" as much GA material as we're likely to get? Dale says, "Yes. By March 21, 2005 I hope to have every Golden Age DC story back in print-but, I suppose I really should check to see if anyone else here at DC thinks that agenda is feasable..." Seriously, it's not something we've talked about, mainly because there remains so much yet to be collected. With only so many books per year, we are working our way through the Library but recognize how long this can take. This is as much preserving our legacy as it is introducing readers to an era unfamiliar to them. Is there a process or person responsible for art direction decisions made about the final coloring/art editing done on the Archives? E.g., a conscious decision was made on the Golden Age Spectre Archives to remove gray tones from the Spectre's body. This included not only the zip-a-tone like shading from earlier issues, which made the Spectre appear as a gray and green ghost, but also figure modeling from later figures. Dale says, "Yep, me. In the case of the Spectre-or any GA book, it is virtually impossible to cleanly and accurately reproduce and/or replicate zip-a-tone. And, since the zip was dropped very quickly on the character in the original comics (as it also was on Batman) its a pretty safe assumption that the editor considered it a mistake to use it in the first place." Before I go out and buy the back issues, is it confirmed that DC will never finish collecting Morrison's Doom Patrol run because of the Flex Mentallo legal situation? We're hoping to put the DOOM PATROL: CRAWLING FROM THE WRECKAGE collection back to press in 2004 and if it's well-received, more might follow. Have to take this opportunity to ask if there is any possibility of a collection, hardcover or trade, of Superman newspaper strips. The first volumes, from Kitchen Sink/DC, were outstanding. We need a follow-up. 25 years worth of Wayne Boring Sunday pages are waiting to see print!!! Right now we do not have plans to collect more from the comic strips. There's so much comic book material that there just isn't room in the schedule for everything. Please, reprint Superman: The Man of Steel. Happy to oblige. A new edition of the John Byrne/Dick Giordano mini-series will be out in October with a brand new cover by Jerry Ordway. That same month, we'll have volume two, also with an Ordway cover, and it will collect the first nine issues of the Superman-relaunch. The stories still hold up upon rereading and people should be pleased. As with anything we launch, should sales warrant, we'll do a third volume in 2004. Remember that Superman crossover with Detective Comics? or Action #775? Will these stories be reprinted anytime soon? I also enjoyed Lost Hearts and Action Comics 800. There's been some talk of that Superman/'Tec crossover finding its way into a collection so we'll see. As for Action #775, that will be included in a 2004 collection currently in the planning stages. #5: 10-8 What!? Nothing about Charlton Archives, The Shadow or The Question?? Funny you should mention Charlton. Dale is working out a proposal for something that will hopefully showcase Steve Ditko's dynamic work on Captain Atom and company. Once we have all the details worked out, we'll be happy to discuss it. What about the BATMAN: YEAR ONE hardcover you mentioned some time back? We are still looking at the possibility of this, but have not yet finalized the plans. Is Green Arrow ever discussed when going over possible archives? Do you think he'll ever get an archive? (Thanks for the Aquaman archive, by the way!) You're welcome. We frequently talk about Green Arrow and other back-up features such as Martian Manhunter. In many cases, we worry about the short length of the stories creating a sameness upon rereading. Additionally, while the characters are much beloved, there really isn't the same level of demand seen as there is for other Silver Age features. Aquaman got the nod this year because he at least went into his own series and the expanded page count allowed the writers to introduce new elements (i.e. Mera, Ocean Master) that have since become fixtures. One reader writes, "I want to see GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW: HARD TRAVELLING HEROES by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams in trade paperback." Another counters, "...Because it was just reprinted last year (maybe two years ago) as a slipcase hardcover, and should still be in print or on order through the back catalog. By the time it comes around to have another printing, the GL Archives should be about up to those issues. Reprinting is fine, with the same material already available in different formats (a TPB, a hardcover, a 7-issue-Baxter reprint series plus the original issues through back issue stores, not to mention the Millennium Edition/DC Silver Age Classic reprint of GL/GA 76....), it starts to look like overkill...:)" What looks like overkill to you is actually a publishing history spanning over thirty years (and you forgot the Warner Books paperback version). All of that material is out of print or only a portion of the complete works. With the slipcase now also out of print, we have received sufficient demand to put the material back in print as a two volume paperback series, due out in Summer 2004. It'll be this edition we'll keep in print as long as demand remains. More from Keith Giffen's run on JUSTICE LEAGUE. Right now we have the first volume back in print and are planning to put the second volume, THE SECRET GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MAXWELL LORD, back to press in 2004. After that, we'll gauge the reaction. What about reprinting The Shadow? The Shadow is a licensed property and we have previously released a hardcover compilation of Mike Kaluta's issues. We recognize this has come up more than once of late and continue to monitor demand. How about Howard Chaykin's Shadow and Blackhawk? Howard is back to doing a lot of work for DC once again so this has been discussed a few times. Again, it all comes down to demand. #6: 10-15 The 80 and 100 pagers are extremely cool. Have you considered doing one that isn't intentionally retro? How about reprinting the 1970s ALL-STAR COMICS run as a series of 100 pagers? An interesting notion. We keep getting asked about that material and don't have firm plans one way or another. You can, though, look for a 100-page facsimile late next spring. I'm interested in the current status of the TPB of George Perez's run on WONDER WOMAN. Also, Superman and Batman both have TPBs of "In The Fifties/Sixties/Seventies." When will Wonder Woman get her due? She was also being published continuously in those decades and deserves equal treatment with the other members of DC's "Trinity." WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS will reprint the first seven issues from the current series in spring 2004. Should sales warrant, more will follow. As for WW through the decades, we've considered it but no decisions have been reached. Reprint The Spirit dailies from the 1940's, please. Another vote has been noted. Another daily collection I would like to see is a reprint of Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder syndicated by Ledger Syndicate between 1966-74. Right now we have no plans to collect any of the comic strip material even though we get the occasional request. As a Swede, a TPB of DC's Phantom (you know the jungle hero originally created by Lee Falk?) would be interesting. I think the specific story was written by Denny O'Neil and published as a mini-series, but I'm not sure. You're thinking of the Peter David/Joe Orlando mini-series that Bob edited some years back. DC also published 13 issues of a Phantom monthly with scripts by Smallville's Mark Verheiden. While the Phantom is incredibly popular in Europe and Australia, we in America have no plans to reprint this material. I'm afraid I won't collect the Batman books with Azbat until KNIGHTQUEST: THE CRUSADE and KNIGHTQUEST: THE SEARCH are collected in TPB's. Do it! Sorry, no such plans exist. #7: 10-22 With FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE a huge success — and the forthcoming new printing of THE SECRET GOSPEL OF MAXWELL LORD collection — are future JLI collections in the cards for 2004? Well, there will be a collection of FKATJL but beyond that, we're not sure. Has the idea of collecting all of the various SECRET FILES profiles into one book ever been brought up? It could make for a very informative, and interesting, guide to the DC Universe for longtime, and new, readers. Just a crazy idea. No, not so crazy. One problem with such a collection is that we continue to update the hero pages to reflect the current status quo. You certainly wouldn't want a page on the Electric Blue Superman today or Aquaman with a hook on his arm. We keep talking about how to present such encyclopedic material and have no solutions as yet. What are the chances of VERTIGO POP! LONDON getting collected? It would make a great cross-promotional tool for both Peter Milligan's HUMAN TARGET and Philip Bond's upcoming VIMANARAMA with Grant Morrison. There's always a chance, but nothing on the schedule. Hey Bob and Dale, is there any chance you'll collect Mark Millar's SWAMP THING run? There's the new SWAMP THING mini, plus the Moore run was just finished up, and Millar is one of the most popular writers, and the artists, Phil Hester, draws one of DC's best selling titles. Whew. We just finished Alan Moore's run and now you want us to jump waaay ahead to Mark and Phil's run. We've had similar requests for the Rick Veitch-written issues and we're more inclined to keep collecting things in order so stay tuned for announcements. Bob, you previously said that the reason that some trades don't include covers or include them in reduced form is due to page signature counts but you didn't answer a subsequent remark by another poster. Why don't you use the inside pages of the trades to print stuff like creator profiles, credits and so on. Also I find a lot of pages in the beginning of trades that are either pointless or could be combined into one. I think content should take precedent over presentation. We continue to evolve the look and feel for our books, using introductions, bios, casts of characters and so on depending upon the needs of each individual title. We still sometimes run out of pages and need to combine covers since we strongly believe in including as much as possible and not leave anything out. Printing on the inside covers is an occasional option but we prefer to use that space for backlists or other non-editorial needs.