BPRD Hardcover

[CBM]

http://www.mtv.com/geek/comics/issues/?id=284

[gdeo]

you beat me to it...hahaha!

[Gary_B]

[WHINE]I can't view this content in Canada, even on the MTV Canada website that the link directs me to.[/WHINE]

[patrick r]

Here are the details:

B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs Hardcover Collection Vol. 1



In 2001, Hellboy quit the B.P.R.D., leaving Abe Sapien to lead Liz Sherman and a bizarre roster of special agents in defending the world from occult threats, including the growing menace of the frog army, first spotted in Hellboy: Seed of Destruction.

Mike Mignola and Dark Horse present the complete Plague of Frogs saga, from Hollow Earth to King of Fear. This first book explores the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense after Hellboy's departure, cracks open the secrets of Abe Sapien's origin, and sets the war on frogs in motion.

Over 400 pages, collecting Hollow Earth, The Soul of Venice, and Plague of Frogs.

WRITER: MIKE MIGNOLA, CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN, GEOFF JOHNS, MICHAEL AVON OEMING
ARTIST: MICHAEL AVON OEMING, GUY DAVIS, RYAN SOOK, AND OTHERS
Publisher: Dark Horse
Publish Date: 2011-02-02
Price: $34.99

http://www.mtv.com/geek/comics/issues/?id=284

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[imrandy85]

looks like the release date of this has been bumped up to January 12th. Not much longer for this!

Beefing up the B.P.R.D.

[Middenway]

Huh, that's interesting. The old trade paperbacks are going to be phased out and replaced with these hard cover editions. Wish I could buy them, as it really does look like a nice book (plus it's hard cover!), but I can't buy the same stories twice. That's an insanity I don't want to delve into. I'll recommend it to anyone just getting into BPRD though.

[timbolton]

Doesn't just sound like they are phasing out...

All that aside, here's the real kicker, folks… this upgrade to the B.P.R.D. library is a permanent one. No longer will the occult investigations of B.P.R.D. Vol. 1: Hollow Earth and Other Stories, B.P.R.D. Vol. 2: The Soul of Venice and Other Stories and B.P.R.D. Vol. 3: A Plague of Frogs be available in floppy format. The entire Plague of Frogs saga is making the move to sturdy, solid and stylish hardcover for good. As the B.P.R.D. move into a new era with B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth so to do their former collections move into a new era of publication where paperbacks have evolved into sleek and (Dare I say?) sexy hardcovers. Time marches on and, thankfully, the B.P.R.D. only gets stronger with age! Hardcover, folks… it's the new generation of B.P.R.D. collection you and your bookshelf need in this brave new world.

(my bold, from http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/201/bprd-hc-collection )

Am I reading that right, people who don't buy singles will have to wait longer for collected stories? Because if they follow the Plague of Frogs format (when collecting Hell on Earth comics) then it will be three trades collected and no single trades inbetween. Or will Hell on Earth: New World be hardback on its own, as will Monsters then Gods? Sounds like you will have to wait for New World, Gods and Monsters to be collected together.

I'm a single comic issue collector (as well as trades) but daaaaaaaamn that would be a long wait for folks who don't get singles.

[Middenway]

Am I reading that right, people who don't buy singles will have to wait longer for collected stories? Because if they follow the Plague of Frogs format (when collecting Hell on Earth comics) then it will be three trades collected and no single trades inbetween. Or will Hell on Earth: New World be hardback on its own, as will Monsters then Gods? Sounds like you will have to wait for New World, Gods and Monsters to be collected together.

I'm a single comic issue collector (as well as trades) but daaaaaaaamn that would be a long wait for folks who don't get singles.

I don't think that's what they meant. "As the B.P.R.D. move into a new era with B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth so to do their former collections move into a new era of publication where paperbacks have evolved into sleek and (Dare I say?) sexy hardcovers." I think this means, since the Plague of Frogs saga is complete, there won't be any reprints of the paperback format, but there will still be Hell on Earth trades... until that saga is complete, then I'm sure those'll be phased out too. I could be wrong, but I really don't think the trade paperbacks are gonna vanish just like that. My BPRD collection is 14 volumes long and I'd like the new ones to sit happily along side them.

...God, I hope you're not right.

[timbolton]

I'm hoping I'm wrong too. That sentence can be read two ways, but it definitely means there will be hardcover versions of Hell on Earth at some point. I just keep looking at it and seeing moving over to HC in place of SC.

I hope not :(

[imrandy85]

Wow I didn't realize they weren't going to print the old Plague of Frogs TPBs anymore. I wonder if the sales are down on those or something. From reading that I really don't think they're going to get rid of the floppies for the New World stuff. The smart thing to do would be to release the floppies on their usual schedule and then some months later release the hardcover collecting those. I have to say though, it sounds like a mistake to limit the older stuff to one, more expensive format. How about lowering the price a couple dollars on the floppies, or maybe just the first couple so new readers would be more inclined to buy them. The $9.99 price on the first Walking Dead TPB definitely made it a lot easier for me to take the dive. Now I buy all of those in HC. I think making the content available in every possible format can only help to promote the books.

[timbolton]

I've just re-read it. I think I am wrong definitely now, so panic over. Plague of Frogs will be hardcover, Hell on Earth probs at a later date. Think it took a snow-awake brain to click lol.

[Scott Allie]

The paperbacks telling the frogs saga, from Hollow Earth to King of Fear, skipping 1946 & 1947, will be phased out, and consolidated into hardcovers. As we approach pub date on a new hardcover, we will stop reprinting the trades it collects. Plague of Frogs Vol. 4 will collect The Warning, The Black Goddess, and The King of Fear.
Replying to questions/misunderstandings in order:
Timbolton—Hell on Earth will be printed in floppies, then 5-issue paperback collections, just like BPRD always has been—and maybe later a hardcover program like this Plague of Frogs program. You will not wait longer for trades. Hell on Earth: New World will not be hardback on its own, nor will Monsters, then Gods. New World will be a trade, then Gods & Monsters will be a trade.
Randy—The sales of the trades are still still extremely strong, so it'll be easier for us to keep 4 big collections in print than 12 slimmer ones, and easier for retailers to keep the whole set in stock. And while a $35 hardcover is more expensive than an $18 trade, that $35 hardcover collections THREE $18 trades. So you're getting $54 worth of comics for $35, and in a nicer format. But we aren't phasing out any formats, just those editions of those particular trades.

[Middenway]

Cool. Thanks for that! One of my friends just started reading BPRD and loves it, but I'm trying to convince her to wait for the hardcover editions because they're a much better format. She's already bought the first one and waiting for it to arrive in January.

[Scott Allie]

Nice. And through the fickle nature of international freight, the book is going on sale a few weeks early. It's a beautiful book.

[imrandy85]

Randy—The sales of the trades are still still extremely strong, so it'll be easier for us to keep 4 big collections in print than 12 slimmer ones, and easier for retailers to keep the whole set in stock. And while a $35 hardcover is more expensive than an $18 trade, that $35 hardcover collections THREE $18 trades. So you're getting $54 worth of comics for $35, and in a nicer format. But we aren't phasing out any formats, just those editions of those particular trades.

This is absolutely a great deal. As someone who has read all these before, given the choice I would definitely buy the HC for $35 instead of $54 in trades. My only worry is that new people to the series would hesitate to spend $35 on something they are unfamiliar with. I do understand the ease of only having to produce/keep in stock 4 items instead of 12. I suppose the folks over there at Dark Horse know more about how this will sell than I do though. No doubt, a lot of the fans will buy the HC's despite already owning the comics and/or trades. Personally, I'm thinking about buying the HC's as they come out to replace my trades. Looking forward to seeing this out in the wild.