BPRD Hardcover

[timbolton]

Thanks Mr Allie, glad to be wrong, appreciate the clarification.

[jimm]

I'm in for this one, need to catch up on early stuff

[thb]

Have we been informed of the dimensions of the HC? Is it at least as big as the original comics or is it reduced in size like the DH 'Omnibus' books?

[imrandy85]

It will be standard comic size (7x10). Quote from Mr. Allie --

These won't adhere to the format of our Omnibus program. Standard comics size, for one. More details to come.

from this thread http://forums.comicbookresources.com...d.php?t=335395

[jimm]

As much as I love the BIG Hellboy hardcovers they can be a chore to read! Glad they downsized the bprd book.

[Jelio]

The only issue i really have for these TPB's and omnibuses is how many versions of these stories do they plan on printing?

There are the single issues usually 5 that get collected into a trade paper back. Then three trade paper backs get collected into an omnibus ... will there be a large hard cover one day that will then combine 2 omnibuses into one book? Where is this headed down the road?

Maybe because BPRD is such a long arc of stories perhaps it really is built for trades and not for single issues.

Maybe its a good idea to skip the single issue stage and just publish trades or omnibuses. The stories themselves are meant to be read in large runs anyways. For example you wouldnt read issue 3 of king of fear and then issue 4 of garden of souls, these stories are meant to be read in the proper order like chapters in a book and as such they really are meant to be collected all together like a big book.

Just my 2 cents


-Jeremy

[Kees_L]

The only issue i really have for these TPB's and omnibuses is how many versions of these stories do they plan on printing?

There are the single issues usually 5 that get collected into a trade paper back. Then three trade paper backs get collected into an omnibus ... will there be a large hard cover one day that will then combine 2 omnibuses into one book? Where is this headed down the road?

Maybe because BPRD is such a long arc of stories perhaps it really is built for trades and not for single issues.

Maybe its a good idea to skip the single issue stage and just publish trades or omnibuses. The stories themselves are meant to be read in large runs anyways. For example you wouldnt read issue 3 of king of fear and then issue 4 of garden of souls, these stories are meant to be read in the proper order like chapters in a book and as such they really are meant to be collected all together like a big book.

Just my 2 cents


-Jeremy

Well, since publishers will basically be investors or rightfully monopolistic executive producers and marketing presenters of readable stuff - they will get to say in which formats they will be presenting their books. Or how many of those, as marketability would (presumably) dictate?

I have to say I couldn't really see there being an issue or problem with that?

Readers will be receiving their serialized comic issues really very swiftly. Compared to literary books for example.
Floppy comic issues even more swiftly than collections or retrospectives logically?
A big thing in the comics industry will hinge on such swiftness, in the wishing to be building up a readership, like a namedropping-thing or branding-thing, rather than waiting to be able to be offering more "voluminous volumes" or something like that? Which as already argued by others will have some practical or impractical limits estimatedly, like books ultimately becoming too bulky or heavy potentially? Something like a Hellboy Library Edition Omnibus (1189 pages) would strike me as rather impractical I'd reckon.

But otherwise, it will for publishers (both as readers too) be best to have products get to be seen and made available as much and as richly yet cost-effectively as possible, I would think. Meaning in as many formats as could be - even as dull and lifeless or mindboggling a format as digital perhaps!!

Also, (since comics started) there seems to already have happened some sort of a shift from comic issues onto TPB's as forming the product unit sort of nowadays.
Something which seems somewhat favorable to me since TPB's will be offering story-arcs more rather from beginning to end than comic issues would.

But then, with any or more existing format diversity within comics, one gets to choose on how to be purchasing comics preferredly?
As there will be no rule or law stating that fans should just be buying everything they could be getting their hands on?

So really, what would be the problem with single issue comics being still made available, if such would be deemed marketable or desirable - from a publisher's point-of-view?

If TPBs would be becoming immediately presented as affordible nifty hardbacks in the future more and more, like the DH Books Of ...-anthologies or the ASOH AOS for instance, such wouldn't seem problematic to me neither.
Many European comics are already mostly being sold like that. To be offering rather complete products, with greater or more lasting saleability, I would expect.

[PreacherCain]

Excellent, can't wait for the BPRD hardcover. I've been waiting a good while for these, hoping they'd eventually do something akin to the Hellboy Library Editions. 14+ volumes was sadly a little expensive for me (I came a little late to BPRD, admittedly!); these are great value and much more suitable to entice in new readers as well! Well done, Dark Horse!

Don't suppose you're thinking of doing something similar with The Goon one of these days!?

And will 1946 and 1947 be collected like this at some point (possibly including 1948 if it ever happens/Witchfinder)? Both fantastic series', I think I actually preferred 'em to BPRD's main line!

Keep up the good work!

[Clayton]

Pretty much near official now, the omnibus is out next week. So says Midtown's list and even Dark Horse's site. Awesome!!!

[Middenway]

If anyone wants to see an extended preview of BPRD: Plague of Frogs - Volume 1, Amazon has one up here. The first pack of pages have no surprises, of course, but the sketchbook section looks very comprehensive

Wish I could trade in my trade paperbacks for the hardcover collection, but I guess I'll have to live with what I've got.

[cantide]

Wow... I love those sketches. Seeing the process behind these stories is going to be awesome!

[gdeo]

Well Party People...this 408 page bad boy launches tomorrow!!!
I cannot wait!!!

[Mechano]

have it on pre-order from tfaw...hopefully i'll see it in the next week or so.

[NCatron]

Hate to say it, but I know this has been a problem in the past with trades: I got my BPRD hardcover yesterday, had to send it back to the store. There was a pretty severe manufacturing defect. There was a large blob of glue in the spine causing weird page misalignment. Also, the last few pages were already tearing away from the binding. I took pictures before returning:

[Kees_L]

I got my BPRD hardcover yesterday, had to send it back to the store.

Aww bummer.
I can see why you returned it. I hope getting the new one won't be taking long.

Hard to say whether there'll be more faulty examples 'though. In a perfect production-line, stuff like this could still happen, like someone dropping something into the glue or either the spine, like a $5000 diamond earring or something...
Although someone should have caught it before shipping it out I'd reckon.